Shadow Clip:The Yokune Treasures
by Yort the third
Summary: Eyes on the famous 'Yokune treasures'. A young teen becomes the thief 'Shadow Clip' and begins her mission to steal the treasures, not only to discover the truth behind a tragic chapter of her life, but to also save an innocent life. An overworked detective named Kaito is tasked with taking her down. Little do they know that a much sinister plot is brewing behind their backs.
1. Another Heist

_**Destination: Museums of forgotten royalty**_

 _ **Time: 2:00AM**_

 **/**

"Okay. I'm in position, can you see a safe way in?"

"Hold on, just give me a sec... Alright! The back entrance is mostly clear. You only need to deal with 'bread addict' and 'Mr USB'."

"Ha! The new guys? Those two are a bunch of jokers especially with my new toy. Can't you find a more challenging entrance?"

"Well, you could strut right to the front door. That is if you want to deal with a fuck load of officers and detective Kaito all at once? Which, if you remember; all carry bean bag rounds!"

"Alright, alright, I get your point. Boring route it is."

"Smart girl. Good luck Shadow Clip, be sure to come back safe."

"Stop worrying, Loud mouth. You know I always do."

"...We seriously need to talk about changing my code name... Loud mouth out."

 ***Beep***

"Heh heh, that girl...Well then-"

 **Let's get this show on the road**

 **/**

Resting under the desolate darkness that plagued above. A city known as Genima, normally bustled with a sea of unique faces; young; old; male and female roamed the streets, carrying out their busy schedules. While few stragglers travelled about, most keep locked in their homes to prepare for the next morning.

"Ritsu! How's security coming along...Great!"

"Al! Any signs of Clip...Alright...Okay good!"

"Teto, Piko! You two doing alright? Not overwhelmed are you...You sure...Alright. Don't be hesitate to contact me if you need any help...Right, stay safe."

Unfortunately. A certoin blue haired detective was denied such a luxury.

Placing an old-styled walkie-talkie back into his unzipped white coat, the man spent the night as the guardian to a well aged, but well kept structure that hosted many influential items of history forgotten by the ages. Surrounding the building was a beautiful garden that lived many types of colourful plants to catch the attention of any bystanders, enticing them to come inside.

His goal was to protect the building and capture the famous thief known by the public as-

 **The Shadow Clip**

"Ms Aoki!...Could you please ease up on my arm?" with a sullen expression, the man looked below to the source of the crushing pain.

"Huh?" a small female who treated her left nails as a three course meal gripped to the man's arm. Mane blended into a mix of blue and purple, wearing a green bow that hosted a plastic diamond. "Oh! I'm sorry, Mr Kaito," she freed the man's now dull arm. "I'm just afraid about what will happen if that thief actually steals that stupid Tiara. I'll be out of a job. Oh god! I don't want that! I can't live my life like a dirty homeless man!I'm to well adjusted for that!" her body tensed up, pupils enlarged as she went all out on her already withered nails.

"Hey. No need to fret," Kaito kept his voice at a soft level, hoping not to spook the woman. "I understand you're nervous, but you have the best of our officers staking out every square inch of your museum. Trust me, not even a fly will be able to get by without our knowledge."

Her eyes furrowed, glaring into the man's soft, confidence filled aqua eyes. "Is that what you told the last curator, before that thieving bitch ran off with the artifact?"

"Ah, well..." an unwilling tooth filled grin followed as he rattled for an answer, optics drifting away from the tiny lass and onto nothing in particular. "You see-"

"We didn't know how she operated before," a quiet voice that seemed in need of some rest chimed in, catching the two's attention. "After all, we've never dealt with an individual like this before."

The man's spirit seemed to lift once more. "That's absolutely right, Haku," he quickly pointed in the direction of the white haired woman leaned against the door of his beat down car. "Yes. I'm not going to lie, we messed up and let her get away before, but you have no need to worry," Kaito twisted his upper torso slightly and gestured the massive structure. "I have guards littered throughout the area with my finest officers positioned at strategic points that offer maximum coverage. Now that we know her tactics, I'll make damn sure that history won't repeat itself."

Expression sunk, still littered with fleeting doubt. Aoki let out an exasperated breath as she gazed to the building she considered a second home. "I hope so," her shaky tone retorted.

A worried sigh of his own soon parted from the man's lips. The possibility of failure felt like ten ton weights pushing down on his sunken shoulders. "You and me both," he left the woman to her own devices and joined his partner that lazied about on his aging car. "How did your scan of the area go?"

The woman shrugged. "What can I say. We searched every inch of the area, but no sign of our little thief yet," a large yarn left her before she stared up at the stars.

"Great," a puff of air left the man. "Of course she's nowhere to be found, what else is new?"

"I don't know, maybe this is a good sign," done star gazing, the woman tilting her head over to man's freckled face, who stared back with a raised brow. "Hear me out before you dismiss the idea. I know it's unlikely, but maybe Shadow Clip is a no show tonight. Meaning the Tiara is safe from her grubby paws," she shoved her palms right up to the man's face.

"Now that's just silly," slight chuckle escaped as he pushed her gloved palms away. "Besides, even if that was the case, she still has two of the previous treasures in her possession. So even it is a big risk using the Tiara as bait, it's the only way we have a chance of drawing out and capturing Clip."

"That is true. The fact that we have very limited leads and don't know anything about this girl is a real big thorn in our sides," another yarn escaped the woman's lips; cheeky grin soon to follow as she stared at the unimpressed man.

"You knew that from the start, didn't you?"

"Of course," she admitted with no fuss. "Had to think of something to cheer you up; that, and it's just so easy to mess with you," she snorted.

"Wow. Is this how you treat your superiors?" the weight in the man's tone disappeared, now light and full of energy, playfully whacking her shoulder. "I should probably fire you for lack of professionalism, or maybe even poor conduct."

"Honey, I'm an integral part of this operation, you can't afford to fire me."

Acting out such a ridiculous voice caused the two to burst out into a laugh that lasted half a minute. Now settled down, the two sat in silence, watching the targeted building that only seemed to grow more intermediating to the man's eyes. Kaito's worries reformed inside the pit of his stomach. "You think we'll catch her this time?"

Haku shared a reassuring smile. "With you in charge?-

 **I have no doubt we will**

 _ **To be continued**_

* * *

 **Hello my old, and maybe even new readers.**

 **I'm happy to finally be able to say that Shadow Clip is now back in full force.**

 **Now some of you know this, but for all who don't. Shadow Clip was a story I started and posted many years ago on this website, but with how bad I keep updating it, letting other things in life get in the way, and the over all crap quality of it in my eyes, I've decided it would be best to delete that and re-work tool it into what you see here.**

 **The reason I've deleted the old one is mostly because of some spoilers since I'm still using a lot of the same basic plot points that I had before into this version of the story just will a lot more thought put into it.**

 **I may post them again once I've diffused for comparison sack, but for now, all who have read the old Shadow Clip who stumble on this one; please don't spoil any future plot points for any new readers. If you do have spoils in the old story that you want to ask/talk about, please sent me a PM and I'll respond as soon as I can.**

 **Also, I've changed my mind from what I've said before. While this will still be posted to my Wattpad, I've decided it'd be best to post each chapter on the same day, so don't worry, you guys don't have to wait a week like I said before.**

 **Credit goes to a friend and former Wattpad user for drawing the cover art and giving the rights to use it.**

 **Anyway, that should be all from me. Please let me know what you think of this story if you can and mention any mistakes if I've missed it. All criticism is welcome!**

 **P.S: Sorry this chapter is so short. Trust me, future will be longer I just felt that this keeping it this short was a good way to kick start the story. Think of this like a prologue if you want.**


	2. The Elusive Thief

_**Destination: Museums of forgotten royalty**_

 _ **Time: 2:00AM**_

 **/**

Feet pressed into the dirt with soft steps; knees bent and body hunched forward. A single figure whose body was covered head to toe in black; long hair matching the hue of the outfit as it danced with the refreshing wind.

The figure weaved by the lowly officers spread throughout the area, blending in among the darkness. Tall plants making excellent cover as this stalker shrouded in darkness approached the strong hold of the treasure.

Scouting through the small field, the thief found a respectable vantage point a top a small hill, one that showed a generous view to the building's back entrance. Laying on her stomach to better shelter herself within the grass. She reached into the darkened bag wrapped around her and pulled out two items.

A pair of military issued binoculars and a brownish handgun she placed beside her ; 'the new toy' as she liked to call it. "Alright, let's see what I'm getting myself into," inner thoughts ran through her mind as she enhanced her vision.

A single light shined high from the building, providing the necessary means for the thief to see. Her attention first converged to the massive wooden door carved head to toe with strange squiggly patterns. While such odd carvings did spark the girl's curiosity, it was still just a plain old door three times her size, so interest was lost quick.

The real focus was on the two who stood watch. "Hm. If it isn't 'bread addict' and 'USB boy'. Now why would Kaito place you two out here all by yourselves?" she continued to ponder, making sure to listen in on what they had to say.

The two officers stood just before the first step of the four step stairway. One with white hair covered by his officers hat; only a tiny string sticking out that bent into the The youthful lad couldn't stop fiddling with the USB wrapped around his neck as rapid breaths drew from him.

 ***MUNCH! MUNCH!** **MUNCH** **!** *

Three smacking sounds raised the man's lids, pulling him away from his zen like concentration. "Dammit Teto! Must you eat that yeast riddled fluff now?" he lashed out at the woman beside him.

Hovering a half consumed baguette only inches from her gaping mouth. The woman turned to the man, red hair done in a way that makes it look like two drills hung from the sides, covering her ears. Satisfied delight now formed into a vexed grimace. "Eh, yeah, Piko! You should know by now that I can't function efficiently without ten helpings of baguettes in my system everyday."

"Now that's just bull."

"Is not!" she pouted.

The man returned her unpleasant expression with his own. "I just don't think it's appropriate to be eating on such an important job. What would Kaito think if he saw you snacking right now?"

"Hm! I think he would be perfectly fine with it," Teto placed her crumb littered knuckles at her sides; head raised up high as if she had won this argument.

"Ha! What wheat induced fantasy world are you living in? No way in hell he'd be okay with it!" he crossed his arms and straightened himself, trying to look taller than he is. "It not only takes away your focus from Shadow Clip, it also distracts me because of that obnoxious chewing! Besides, it's past two in the morning. I really don't think it's healthy to eat such a fatty snack this late."

"Hm! You can't tell me what to do!" she crossed her arms and turned her back towards him. "I can eat bread whenever and wherever I damn feel like!" she continued to chow down on her soft snack, ignoring the man's clenched teeth and steaming eyes

Watching from the distance, the thief could only chuckle at the madness. "Those two really like to get worked up over bread," taking this opportunity, she loads her gun with a single dart; readies the shot and aligns it on one of the two. The unlucky random target being the white haired man. "Sorry guys,"

"For crying out loud! It's just a stupid piece of food! Must you worship it like some sort of god!?"

"If you can't understand the wonders of bread, then maybe you should just drop dead!"

"Ah!" as if on cue, the man felt a strange stabbing sensation bury into his neck. "What the-Err," all of a sudden he felt drowsy; body tipping forward and back; feet struggled to keep him lifted.

Teto's expression switched to concern once she saw her friend act as if he had a little too much fun at a bar. "Um, Piko? Are you feeling alright?"

"Er...I...Don't...Sure?...Hey!" Piko's eyes scrunched as his mouth gaped open with a goofy smile. "When did your hair start spinning..."

"Huh...Wa?"

The pleasure in his face departed, replaced by a bare gaze that stared into nothing. "Errrr-" his lids fell shut, body now powered down and collapsed forward. Luckily, the red haired woman tossed her bread aside just in time to catch him.

Supporting him by his armpits, Teto's arms began to feel like long strips of noddles while she struggled to support his weight. Fearing she may drop his limp body at any moment, she slowly knelled to the ground and rested his head atop her lap. "Piko, are you alright! Piko...Piko!" she repeatedly shook the passed out body in hopes he'd wake up.

No response.

"Oh no!" her heart sank into her stomach. Face grew warm; liquid dripping from her optics did little to cool it down. "Piko!...Don't die on me," she leaned forward, lifting the man's peace-filled features closer to her chest, cradling his upper torso. "I'm sorry!I didn't mean what I said! I just blurted stupid shit without thinking, no way bread can compare to a friend like you! Please don't leave!" the back of her throat burned like a thousand fires; tears increasing in volume. "Don't...Leave."

In her theatricals, she failed to notice the dart sticking out from his neck, or that he was still breathing fine. She didn't get a chance to figure that out as another dart flew into her neck.

"Ow! Da hell was that?" the same pain travelled through her neck only to be followed by familiar side effects. "Ohhhhhh wow! Look at all the pretty colours!..." it didn't take long before Teto drifted into dream world. Her upper torso crashed right on top of her friend's body. Sounds of ruff snores escaped her throat, drool dripping right onto the man's left cheek.

"Well that was easy," taking the two out of commission, the thief looks around to make sure the sounds of Teto's sobbing didn't attract any unwanted attention. Seeing no one lurking nearby, the thief packed her equipment and hurried down the hill.

A regret filled frown overtook the girl's mostly concealed face once her eyes narrowed to the bodies fast asleep by her feet. "I'm sorry I have to keep causing you two so much trouble," with a sigh, she gazed up at the carved door, brows narrowed; purple pupils sparked with determination. "But I need that treasure if I want to find out the truth," taking extra caution, she stepped over the bodies, letting out violent puffs as she pushed the door open and stepped inside. Gloved hands preventing any finger prints being left behind.

Inside, the building was littered with carvings; paintings; sculptures and many other trinkets that had been lost to father time. Her eyes filled with child like wonder as she scanned the massive hall, trying to take in each and every piece of history. No matter how many museums she visits; legally, or otherwise; she never loses that blissful spark that took her back to the now melancholy memories of her youth.

Keeping herself in check, the thief took a deep breath and reminded herself that only 'Yomi's Tourmaline Tiara' is all that mattered. Pulling her hair back, she pushed a button to a device that was lodged into her ear. "Calling Loud-Mouth. I've arrived safely inside," her eyes kept alert for any potential guards.

"Nice work Shadow Clip, but don't get too cocky you're not out of the woods yet."

"Aw! Is that a hint of worry I hear in your voice. You really do care."

The voice let off a soft, but amused puff. "With all the heart attacks you almost cause? Makes me wish I didn't," Clip formed a goofy smile, having a feeling the voice on the other end could sense it. "Back to the job. What do you see?"

"Not too much actually," she scanned the room once more, this time taking a more relaxed disputation. "All that's around is lots of intriguing exhibits and empty space. Remind me to come back here when I'm not on duty."

"What? No cops guarding the place?" she disregarded the second half of the thief's report.

"Not a soul. Just a few security cameras, but they are no threat since I know where I'm standing is their blind spot."

"Yes, I know! No need to show off. I studied the blue prints with you, remember? Now hold on one moment while I shut them down and check for any other security measures,"

Waiting, Clip struggled to keep her body still as the sounds of fingers pounding against a keyboard could be heard on the other end. She rocked back and forth on her toes and heels; clapping her hands together and mimicking popping sounds with her mouth. Pupils wondering all around the room.

"...Could you please stop that popping noise?"

"Sorry..."

"... Alright, got the camera showing nothing but cat videos. Quite a poor network structure if a high-schooler can bypass the code so easily. They should really invest in more competent programmers."

"Thanks, Loud-Mouth. What would I do without a nerd like you," freed from her boredom, Clip took further steps into the room and sauntered up the flight of stairs, snickering to herself at the thought of her partner's irritated expression. "By the way. Why cat videos?"

"Meh, I felt like it," the thief raised a brow, taken back by such a simple explanation. "Careful how you proceed though, something didn't seem right as I was hacking the system."

"Why you say that?"

"Well, besides the cameras. I couldn't spot any other activated security measures in place."

"So?" she shrugged, rubbing her back. "If it means I don't have to manoeuvre around anymore stupid lasers than that's fine by me."

"That's not the strange part though," Clip's brow raised as she hung on every word. "While skimming the files, I noticed that those lasers you hate so much, along with other subtle security devices have intentionality been switched off."

"Hm. That is strange," eyes closed, the thief stopped for a second to scratch her head, mulling over the situation. "That, and the lack of any guards' kind of gives away that I'm walking into one big trap," already three steps a head of her partner's deduction, the thief continued to her destination.

"Right. Maybe this is what 'Agent Toxicaded' meant by Kaito possibly changing his game plan at the last second,"

"Sounds like it."

"Clip," her pitch lowered. "Please be extra careful and don't think about doing anything stupid."

Head tilted back, the girl couldn't hold back her chuckle. "You worry about me way too much. Seriously, when have I ever done anything stupid?" a silent air of judgement mixed with embarrassment soon filled the baron hall. "...Don't answer that."

"Just be sure not to get captured, okay?"

"I'll be as careful as a desperate nerd on prom night. Shadow Clip out."

"Hey! Was that a shot at m-" holding the button down on the ear piece, a mild beep bounced inside her ears, cutting off the voice of her tech savvy partner. Holding back her amusement, the girl refocused on the task at hand.

The top floor hosted three halls that split into different branches, making it easy for anyone without prior knowledge of the structure to become lost. Reaching deep into her memories, the thief pictured the blue prints in her mind to avoid such a fate. She used the other exhibits as land marks to lead her to the bounty; keeping note to not gush over them.

Strolling down the mostly empty hall, only few sights to gawk at as the place became more baron the further she travelled down. She froze mid step before turning the corner, a sinking feeling burrowing within her stomach. Heeding this ached warning, the thief reaches for her gun once more, concealing it within the back of her belt beside a few spare smoke bombs contained within a pouch.

Her fears are confirmed once she made the turn.

In her sights, three officers acted like guardians to a holy land, protecting the plain rosewood doors that held the desired item.

One stood tall with arms crossed at his chest, presenting a shiny white grin spread across his cheeks; filled with merciless pleasure. Two others stood beside him with weapons drawn, features trying to stay blank despite their shaky arms and wet foreheads.

"Why hello there, Shadow Bitch! Surprised? Bet you didn't expect a welcoming party here now did you?"

Palm resting on her hip, Clip's outward expression seemed uninterested by the three before her. "True. I didn't expect such an underwhelming group of morons to be here," she said deadpan, voice deeper than when she was talking with her cohort. " Surprised? Well...If dreadful disappointment also means surprise? Then yeah; I'm pretty fucking surprised," she addressed the tallest of the three, not even bothering to glance at the other two.

"Har! Har! That's cute," the man in the black on white jacket closed his eyes and ran his hand through his brown hair filled with white streaks; mane pulled back as if it were stuck in a permanent wind tunnel. "A little shrimp like you thinks she can take down a tough man like me? Oh little missy," his voice shifted from suave to condensing; acting as if he was talking to a dumb child. "You're going up against me, a hunk of burning beef with abs of steel! You'd be lucky to leave here with at least 6 broken bones when I'm through with you. So the smart choice would be to just turn yourself in and save us both the hassle."

Shadow Clip could only roll her eyes over such misplaced confidence. "Look, Albert is it?"

The man's eyes narrowed, cocky demeanor now a distant memory. "That's Al to you. Big Al!"

"...Rrrrriiight, Al. Let me set the record straight," hand still planted on her hip, the thief slid it into the pouch, grabbing one of the smoke bombs. "Not only will I be walking out of here a free woman while twirling that beautiful tiara around my finger," she played out the motion as if she already possessed it. "I'll also be spending the rest of the night fast asleep on my comfy bed, dreaming of the sweet tears of failure you'll no doubt shed. Not a thing thing you, or your cronies can do about it."

"Hm! Don't you have a lot of confidence for someone so small."

"I could say the same thing about you, and I'm not talking about your height," her unimpressed eyes focused on a certain part of the man's body.

Unfazed, the man opened his mouth ready to respond; only to be left a gape when one of his men let off a quick snicker. It only took a deathly glare to shut him up. "...Cute retort, but I need to ask," he reached for the shotgun strapped behind him and set his sights on her right shoulder. "How do you intend to get past this?"

A quick yawn escaped her. "Gee! How am I ever going to get out of this mess," tapping her chin, she let her eyes drift to the right of the ceiling. "Oh!" finger and thumb worked together to release a snapping sound. " Maybe...Like this!"

Taking a deep breath, she threw a single smoke bomb freeing a cloud darker than the clothes on her back that filled the hall. Eyes closed and breath held, the thief readied her gun as she opened her ears to the surrounding sounds. Coughs and gasps that sounded no different to dying dogs is all she needed to guide the readied gun. A simple thought ran through her mind among the chaos. One that caused her to cringe with regret.

" **I'm sorry, Al."**

 **/**

Minutes passed as Kaito, Haku and Akoi, waited in anticipation for the arrival of an unwelcome guest. The detective's mind too focused on the thrill of the hunt to let the temptations of slumber seduce him, while the women struggled to fight off the sandman's charms.

"Hello! Kaito! Haku! Anybody!?"

Energy spiked up once the sound of a panicked voice appeared from the walkie-talkie clipped to Kaito's belt. "Ritsu?" he answered, voice soft and calm. "What's going on? Is everything alright?"

"No! Everything is not alright! The cameras! They have been hacked! All I can see are dancing cats!"

"What did he just say?" Aoki intervened, only to receive collected shrugs from the officers.

"Ritsu, deep breaths. Could you please slow down and explain what is going on?"

"Oh god! How the fuck did they bypass my code!? It was full proof!"

"Ritsu!" he clapped, startling the man.

"Ah! Sorry, Kaito. I just... I thought I had the perfect algorithm this time."

"It's alright, Ritsu," the detective kept his voice low. "Please, tell me. What's happened?"

"Alright," a deep breath could be heard from the device. "I was keeping an eye on the monitors, checking up on every corner of the museum in case Shadow Clip was lurking around. Everything was going well, until my feed was replaced with irritating cat videos!"

"Can you get the feed back?"

"What do you think I've been trying to do!? This hacker, whoever they are, has messed with my code to the point we're I can't even recognise it!" frantic typing could be heard on his end, followed by a loud pond. "Fuck me! I can't even track the asshole's signal! Punk is making me look like some amateur!"

Kaito's expression turned grim as his heart-rate increased. Haku soon matched his facial appearance, looking as rough as her partner.

"Oh god!" the small curator on the other hand, wasn't so subtle with her fears; breaths fast and erratic as she used her right hand to fan away non-existent sweet. "Shadow Clip is here! She's going to steal that crown and leave me out of a job! Oh god! I'll be forced to eat from the trash!" losing all control, she started to munch on what little of her nails were left.

An exasperated sigh left the winded man's mouth. "Haku. Could you please go comfort Aoki," without a word, the woman saluted then ran to the little lady's aid. All distractions now sorted, he returned to his distant conversation. "Have you checked up on others?"

"Sorry, Kaito. I've been too busy trying to fix things up on my end."

"Shit!" the detective couldn't keep himself from screaming out, gaining a shocked glance from his partner. Walkie-talkie still in hand, the man took a deep breath while pushing his knuckles into his forehead, applying an excessive amount of pressure to it.

"Um, you alright Kaito?" his partner asked.

Freeing the captured air contained by his lungs. Kaito lowered his arms; palms stayed curled into tense spheres. "We don't have time to call them now," he pointed to the upper part of the building. "We need to get to the tiara now, before Shadow Clip gets away! We can check on the others on the way!"

"Right behind you, partner!" matching his commanding tone, Haku gave a quick salute then followed the man's lead with the small museum caretaker doing her best to keep up from behind. They travelled through the tall, upkeep plants and down small hills. Kaito called out to any guards he passed along the way, increasing the numbers in their group.

A collected gasp rang across the many officers once they reached the back entrance. Acting like a spotlight, the light by the doorway shined on two bodies stacked on top each other. "Holy sh-"

"Teto! Piko!" the detective's concerned yelps overshadowed Haku's quiet profanity. He rushed over to the immobile duo, sliding to his knees and placed two figures on each of their necks. His stone like body eased up once rhythmic pulses were discovered. "Huh? What's this?" the cloud of fear dissipating, the man finally noticed a strange object sticking out from not only the drill head's neck, but also Piko's. He pulled both out; police issued gloves shielded them his finger prints. Silent shock rushed through his face once he had a closer examination. "Tranquilizer darts!? Shit! When the hell did she start using these?"

Done with his examination. He lifted himself from the ground and pulled out one of the many evidence bags tucked away in his coat pocket, placing the darts inside. He handed it over to one of the officers to take back to HQ.

Heart pumping at high levels; mind racing with hundreds of thoughts as the man gazed up at the massive door before him. Eyes closed, he cleared the anxiety that clouded his overworked mind before springing them open again. He pulled the shotgun smuggled under his coat and readied a non-lethal round. "Alright everyone. Are you ready to do this?"

His question sparked cheers and hurrahs from his small unit, though some louder than others, evidenced by Haku's overshadowed excitement.

"Now that's what I like to hear! Let's go!" with a quick wave, the squad barged inside. Like a stampede of angry bulls, the crew hurried though the main hall and up the small flight of stairs. Despite seeming to lack any organisation, everyone moved together like a single entity; weaving past each exhibit without knocking a single item to the cold floor.

Their momentum screeched to a sudden halt once they reached the doors. Wide eyed shock and quiet mumbles befell them, the exception being the detective who's eyes sparked with rage as they laid on three more bodies, all incapacitated by the same method. "You two!" he pointed to a couple of officers who jolted at the sound of his composed voice. "Make sure their alright. If they don't require medical attention, then take them back to headquarters. Pick up Teto and Piko on the way too," the two nodded, following the man's calm, though shaky command.

Bodies now out of the way, everyone readied in their appointed possession with weapons drawn. All lower ranked uniforms huddled together, anxious as they waited for Kaito and Haku's signal, who rested their backs on opposite ends of the doors. "Ready, Haku?" he asked in a whisper.

Focused, his partner said not a word. She didn't need to. A simple nod was all that's needed, a gesture which he returned.

With one last calming breath, the two slammed the doors open and circled inside; shotguns at the ready with the rest following their lead. "Hands in the air, Shadow Clip! We have you-" Kaito paused mid sentence, the sorry state of the room sucking away at his soul like a vacuum. "Surrounded..."

Guns once ready to fire now rested by hips. The officers tread carefully onto the red carpet of the small room littered with posters heavily advertising the tiara.

Hearts felt heavy once many pairs of eyes drew to the display sitting in the middle of the room. None more in pain than a certain blue haired detective. "No..." he paced himself over to the podium, the cube glass that was once a home for the artifact now smashed with a little black hair clip now sleeping on the scarlet cushion.

His sunken eyes never left that tiny piece of accessory. The sounds of others mumbles seemed non-existent as he carefully reached into the hole in the once perfect frame and picked up the item, making sure not to cut his arm on the edges. In the palm of his hand, the calling card of the elusive Shadow Clip once again mocked the tired detective.

"Kaito," a familiar famine voice called out to the man, distracting him from the lingering sorrow. "I think we may have found her escape rotate," Haku stood by one of the three small windows circling the room, lips deflated while she pointed to the shattered means of escape.

Not a word was spoken, not even a noticeable reaction. Only quiet sounds of slow steps followed as he approached the window. Standing by his partner, the man took in the view of the darkened environment; artificial light from cop cars and street lights serving as his visual aid.

He knew the thief was long gone by now, yet his eyes failed to receive the message, desperately trying to see if he can find the thief hidden in the field. They, too, soon found it was a fruitless venture, turning up only pieces of glass that landed onto the dirt below. His sights decided to settle onto the neon lights of the city that beamed ahead. Despite living here all his life, the man still looked on in awestruck at such a wondrous sight ahead.

"I'm sorry," a frail voice rang beside him, pulling him away from his wondering thoughts.

"For what?"

"Letting Shadow Clip get away again," Haku's head hung low; hands rested on the window sill, tucking away her narrowed brows and the sour frown that accompanied. "We failed you again,"

Picking up the distress in her tone, Kaito forced the corner of his lip to rise into a melancholy grin. "Hey, don't blame yourself," he gently tapped her back. "Neither you, nor any of the officers failed tonight, you all preformed your duties as planned," the facade of his grin faded away; hand now removed from the woman's back. "No, the blame should fall solely on the man in charge of the operation."

His speech ripped the woman's focus away from the dirt below and onto the blue haired man. "No, Kaito. Don't be so hard on yourself. How could you have known that Clip would suddenly have a tranquilizer gun?"

"I should have!" the pounding sound of his fist making contact with the sill caused Haku's body to jolt a little. A heavy breath soon followed. "I'm sorry. I'm supposed to be the leader, I should have planned for a situation like this; yet, as if I had learned nothing from last time. I underestimated that girl once more and let her get away with another treasure. If anyone's a failure, it's me."

"Come on, man, don't do this to yourself," she wrapped her arm around his neck, forcing him to bend forward. "Don't let that low-life thief get you down. You're not a failure in my eyes, man. You're a fantastic leader and I'm honored to work under your leadership. Hell, don't just take my word for it, ask anyone else and they'll tell you the exact same thing. "

An aggressive chuckle void of humor escaped his lips. "If I'm such a 'fantastic' leader, then why is Shadow Clip still out there probably planing her next heist?"

"Well..." her eyes darted away, working together with her brain to come up with the right words. "You're not perfect, so what? None of us are, that's why we're human. It'd be wrong of us to expect you to have every single contingency planned out, so don't expect such unreasonable standards of yourself."

Expression stayed bleak as he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Haku. That's not a good enough excuse," he removed the weight off Haku's arm, ignoring the worried glances she shared. He pulled another bag from his coat, this time placing the hair-clip inside. He glared at the inanimate object trapped inside its plastic prison, wishing he could in-prison the real deal with such ease. "Here," done, he handed over the evidence to his partner who took it without question. "Take this to headquarters and have it examined for me. We might be able to lift some clues from it. Not holding my breath for anything other than another dead-end though."

"Um...Okay, so why are you handing it to-" Haku looked up only to see that the man had disappeared. She quickly scanned the room and found that Kaito was already halfway to the exit. "Hey! Where are you going?"

"I need to be alone right now. I-"

 **I need to make a call**

 **/**

Prize now safely tucked away in her backpack. The slender figure raced along the dim streets, weaving through darkened alleyways that helped conceal her from any curious bystanders and nosy CT cameras. "Ready the van, loud-mouth! I've got the tiara!" she spoke into the ear piece, breath in a huff as she neared the destination.

Having only to run down two more streets, she reached the underside of an overpass littered by graffiti and other man made junk. Camouflaged within the shadows, a van of faded black with little features that made it stand out waited; windows blacked out to conceal who ever lurked behind the wheel. Normally one, especially of her age, would distance themselves from such a vehicle. To the masked thief though, this was her ride to freedom.

Swinging open the back doors, she climbed inside the cramped space, slamming them back shut before calling out. "Alright, Loud -mouth! Step on it!"

"On it!" abiding by her command, a girl with blonde hair done into a single pony tail drove back into the city, though at moderate speeds to avoid any unneeded conflicts.

A calming sigh escaped the thief's lips, now safe inside the plain gray carpet covered space. Along the walls was littered with posters of a long haired blonde singer, some of her pictures showed her wearing very revealing outfits on one side of the van; while the other had various anime characters. "God! I hate running so much," she wined with heavy breaths as she bent forward, clamping onto her worn out knees.

"Hey Clip?"

"Yeah Loud-Mouth?"

"Next time you tell me to gun it, could you remember to say please?"

"What?" the thief let off a small chuckle among the potent breaths that leaped from her over worked lungs. "We just stole another priceless treasure and you're calling me out on my manners?"

"Just because you're a thief, doesn't mean it gives you an excuse for poor manners."

The corner of her wavering lip raised; rolled eyes quick to follow. "I'm sorry for my rudeness, your highness," she bowed, polite tone exaggerated."I'll be sure to keep note of my manners next time I'm running from the cops."

Her friend's lids sank as she spotted the gesture in the rear view mirror. "Your a real charmer you know that?" despite trying not to show it, a small grin broke through the girl's stoic expression.

"Damn right!" Shadow Clip retorted, removing the domino mask that concealed her face. "Have you switched off the Wi-Fi yet?" she asked, removing her backpack and hanging it on her arm.

"Don't worry, Rin. Like always, I made sure to turn it off before you arrived," she added emphasis on her friend's name while she tapped the device beside her that was covered with stickers of more anime characters. "I even switched off my laptop. So don't worry your 'tiny little'head. No one is listening in on our conversation," she turned back after stopping at a traffic light, greeting Rin with a protruding tongue.

The girl pouted, taking note of two certain words. "Har har. Tiny. Little. You should be a comedian," response deadpan, she removed the black wig, reviling smaller blonde hair that waved like it was celebrating its freedom. Bag still around her arm, Rin reached for the treasure taking extra caution when releasing it from its portable prison. Expression withered while looking over the silver trinket, fingers tingled as they ran over every bump and jewel. "Neru?"

"Let me guess, you have some sort of smart Alec response, don't you?" she rolled her eyes, preparing for an unfunny insult.

"No no, it's just..." a heavy sigh escaped her. "Do you think this will finally...Well, you know?" her head sunk forward; optics focused on the empty corner; throat felt dry as she fought to push back the water that begged to leak out.

Her friend's eyes grew wide, taken back by the question. Lips in a frown, the sound of her friend's soft, damaged tone felt like daggers to her heart. "I'm not sur-"

 _ **/machigaete uchuu owatte**_

 _ **aoshingou wa itsumodoori**_

 _ **tonde mata tomatte**_

 _ **mata tobi souda\**_

The blaring song interrupted the girl, causing them both to jolt. Rin rummaged though her bag to find the source of the noise. Pulling out a vibrating phone, she adjusted her voice a little in response to the contact picture of a blue haired man on screen. "Oh, hey Kaito. How is everything going with the stakeout?" she asked, forcing her voice to sound dull and exhausted.

"Awful," the man on the other end sounded broken hearted. "You ruined me you blued haired bastard! I hope you die in a fucking fire!" sounds of a raving female voice took the girl by surprise.

"What the hell was that?" she asked, tiny liquid filled her optics as she removed the purple contacts that hid the navy blue hue behind them.

"Yeah...That was the curator. I think you can piece together why she'd be so cross with me."

"Shadow Clip got away from you again?"

"Sadly yes," a heavy breath could be heard on her end. "Sorry to ring you so late, Rin, but I really need to talk to someone and your the only one in the house who is usually awake at this time. I didn't wake you, did I?"

"No. No. It's alright," an artificial yawn was forced out of her mouth. "Can't sleep like usual, so I'm laying on the couch watching some stupid late night shows."

"Ah, is that what I can hear in the background?"

She paused to take a look around her, just now noticing the sounds of bumps and creaks caused by the van.

"...Um, Rin, you still there?"

"Oh, yeah! It's the T.V. Sorry, my mind wondered off for a second."

"You sure you can talk right now? I can speak to you in the morning after I get home if you want?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm fine," she waved her hand, despite knowing he wouldn't be able to see the gesture. "It's you who sounds like shit right now. So whatever you need to vent, just lay it on me. I've got all night," a genuine smile befell her lips.

"Thanks, Rin. I really appropriate you being here for me, even if I'm a whinny, royal nuisance sometimes."

Rin's smile turned somber. "No worries, Kaito and don't worry," her gaze shifted to the tiara in hand. "You're not a nuisance."

During the rest of the trip. Rin spent the remaining night hanging on every word as Kaito retold the events that took place during the night. She responded with short 'ohs' and 'ahs' pretending she didn't already know the outcome of this story. In that time, she climbed over to the passengers seat to sit by Neru, who occasionally took quick peeks at her eyeing the window with a bleak outlook before focusing back on the open road. Wondering what gloom thoughts filled her mind.

She continued to listen to the man's woes in silence, mind a drift elsewhere as she felt nothing but heart twisting regret for the hell she's putting him through. The only thought keeping her from braking down into an apologetic mess is the end goal to this criminal venture.

 **One that would change her life forever**

 **/**

 **Destination: ?**

 **Time: ?**

"So? Shadow Clip's mission was a success, I assume?" sitting on an expensive office chair, a rough voice void of any joy left the voice of a woman with hair that matched the sky above. Only lacking the faint flickers of light.

"Of course! That's why I'm here aren't I?" a voice, pronounced and full of confidence retorted; balancing back on a cheap, store bought chair.

"Good," her response lacked any thrill. "To think, right now she's probably lost among the fragmented world of sleep; unaware that each treasure she grabs brings me closer to my long awaited goal," eyes shut, she envisioned the grand result of this scheme.

"Aren't you the poet," the guest's eyes rolled. "About this plan of yours. You really think these...Youkane treasures really grant this 'ultimate power' you keep raving about? Cause the concept of seven random treasures coming together to grant superpowers sounds more like some kind of crap anime plot."

"Hm. I didn't partner up with you because your brutish mind can't fathom the bare basics of my plan," the woman glanced over her shoulder, revealing the aqua blue eyes hidden behind her pig-tailed hair. "All I want from you is to get the job done. Nothing more;nothing less."

"Whatever," the guest wrapped their arms behind their neck. "Believe in whatever mystical bullshit you want. As long I get paid and off that annoying, squeaky voiced brat once this is all over. Then I'm satisfied."

A chuckle devoid of any joy left the woman. "Typical monetary gain and the immense sense power that can only come with taking another's life, but-" twisting her chair, the woman could now lay empty eyes on the uninterested individual who seemed more invested in the dirt between their nails. "Such brutality is a necessary, though barbaric, component to my operation if I'm to active my goal."

"Yeah. Remind me. Why the hell are you going though all this crap again?"

An irritated breath left the woman as she turned round once more to look out her grand window and to the sky above that reflected upon the sea below. "It's a simple desire, but one I harbor no shame pursuing-

 **Revenge**

 _ **To be continued**_

* * *

 **See? Told you all this chapter would be longer. 500 cookies to anyone who knows what Rin's ringtone is.**

 **Leave a review if you want and have yourselves a good one.**


	3. Urban Thief

_**Destination: 22 Vocal way**_

 _ **Time: 7:00AM**_

 _ **/**_

In a quiet suburb tucked neatly away from the consistent rush of the big city. Many citizens within this tight knit community rise nice and early to start their daily routines. Whether it's the old getting ready for work, or the young dreading yet another school day; everyone paced themselves for the day ahead.

All except for a blonde, short haired girl. Limbs stretched across the bed, sheets spread all about with some dipping to the floor, unpleasant sounds escaping from her lungs; fast asleep after working another night shift.

"Yo. Rin! Come on, get your lazy ass out of bed," an impatient voice demanded the sleepy blonde, unaware of her late night venture.

"Urgh," recognising the cracked, nasally voice that disturbed her peace, the girl tightened the grip on her already closed lids, rolling over to face away from the noise. "Fuck off, Len. I'm trying to sleep here,"

"For crying out loud! Must we go through this shit every morning," the voice's aggravation grew, combating the girl's slurred whining. "Get up already! You don't want to be late for the last day of school, do you?"

"Don't give two shits. Sleep is all that matters."

"Alright, have it your way," a mumbled, sadistic glee left the figure's mouth, one the sleepyhead failed to catch.

Eyes still guarded by soft skin, the girl's brow raised once she felt a strange sensation, almost as if her body is being pulled by some invisible force. "Len? What the hell are you- AH!" eyes flung open, she fell off the bed and crashed onto the fuzzy floor, face scrunched up as she rubbed her sore bottom. "What the hell, Len!"

Despite blurred vision, she knew that the figure that towered over was her twin brother. The spiky smug of yellow that made up his hair being a dead give away. "Oh, don't act like such a brat. In fact, you should be thanking me, now you won't be late for school."

"Hmph, 'thank you?'" in a huff, the girl picked herself off the floor. "You woke me from my wonderful sleep by tossing me to the floor! I think a different word should come before the 'you'" she wiped away the crust littered around her eyes before reaching for a pair of orange rimmed glasses that sat on the drawer beside her bed. Now the boy's figure was clear once she placed them on, able to notice that he was already in uniform. Her brows narrowed once she saw a blanket littered with pictures of lilies gripped in his hand, figuring out the method used to wake her.

"No need to be mean, little sis," the pointy haired lad tossed the blanket over his sister, covering her upper body. A soft snicker followed once he heard an irritated grunt push past the fabric. "Honestly, if Meiko didn't ask me to wake you, I would've just let you sleep in. Sometimes I wonder if you're really are my sister and not just some lazy sloth they accidentally swapped at birth."

"You're such an ass," she retorted, pulling the blanket off her and tossed it back. Not worried by where it landed. "Besides. You're only two seconds older, not something worth rubbing in my face."

"You say that, yet that those extra seconds is what helped form me into the mature sibling," smug satisfaction written across his cheeks, Len blew on his knuckles and rubbed it along his spotless white shirt.

"Bullshit!" she shouted, failing to contain a baffled laugh. "No way in any universe can you possibly be considered 'mature'," she drove her point home with visible air quotes.

"No need to be jealous. It's not my fault that I bloomed into such a responsible adult at such a young age. Why, I'm sure when you're older, you'll mature into a responsible woman. Probably around your late forty's, or something."

Rin's optics rolled before being masked by her own palm that slapped onto her face. "Okay, it's way to early to tolerate your trivial insults. Kindly get the hell out of my room."

"Hmm, what if I don't want to?" he teased, leaning on the door plastered with pictures of a blonde haired idol.

"If you wannabe be like that," with a smile filled with mischief, the girl wrapped her arms around her slender stomach, gripping the sides of the black singlet. "Looks like I'll be forced to change in front of you."

The boy's calm composer preformed a one-eighty. He stepped off the door, expression mixed with worry and disgust. "You wouldn't dare?"

"You want to take that chance?" wasting no time, Rin lifted her shirt a bit, preparing to stop before really reviling anything noteworthy.

"Ah! Alright! I'm going! I'm going!" it took barley a peek of her belly button to cause him to shield his eyes. "You're a sicko, Rin! A sicko!" his disgusted bellows lingered as he bolted to the hall, slamming the door behind him.

"Hm. Checkmate, dear brother," she gloated within her own mind, victorious grin matching such a cocky expression. She then threw off her top exposing her upper half to the sizzling air, following suit with her darken sports shorts and the rest of her underwear. Clear of any distractions, a quick thought popped into her mind as she wrapped a towel around her body.

 **Right! I better quickly text, Neru**

 _ **/**_

Now fresh and dressed in her school wear. Rin passed by the captured memories that hung along the hall then down the flight of stairs to the lower level of the house; goal being to meet the demands of her rumbling stomach.

She stepped into the decent sized kitchen, socks slid along the patterned tiles as the humid heat crashed into her body like an out of control truck. She didn't care though, the alluring whiff of bacon, eggs and pancakes that danced along the edge of her nose more than made up for the unbearable heat. "Morning, Mekio," she greeted the source of such wondrous scent.

She gained a quit glance from her brother, who sat at the round table in the middle of the room, only to return to the laptop's screen once he found the source of the noise.

"Morning sweetheart," the considerably taller woman glanced over her shoulder; voice soft and soothing as she shared a cherry smile, brunette hair no longer than the blonde's waved to the side. "Your breakfast will be ready soon. Only a minute or so left to go."

"Sweet! Thanks Meiko," waiting on her meal, Rin opened up the silver coated fridge across from the woman. Despite the many treats to chose from, she only had eyes for the carton of orange juice tucked away in the bottom rack. Body felt like holy bliss as she reached for the drink; the refreshing air cooling her sizzling skin. She let her head linger in the cold longer than needed before closing up the boxed winter paradise.

"How are you copping this morning?" the woman asked, flipping the thin rounded cakes. "Kaito said he had to console with you again last night. Felt absolutely awful for keeping you up longer than needed."

"Ah. He doesn't need to feel bad, would have been up all night regardless," she looked away, masking her slumped lips.

Tucking the carton under her arm, she approached the high cabinets by Meiko. Standing beside the woman, Rin peered over and noticed that the woman's wardrobe consisted of crimson pants that exposed the indent lines around her pelvic area and a matching coloured top that exposed a majority of her curved midriff and D sized chest. Normally, witnessing such a revealing outfit on a well-toned woman is one of the very few benefits that summer offered for the blonde. Meiko was the uncomfortable exception.

Averting her eyes from the brunette's free spirit. She refocused on getting a glass cup. "What can I say, another terrible night thanks to my good old friend, insomnia," she stood on her toes to try and reach for the glass, squeaky grunts leaving her throat.

"Aw, my poor baby," catching on to the girl's struggle, Meiko reached up and grabbed one of the cups without any signs of effort and handed it over to the girl. "Here you are, sweetie," she patted the girl's head, scrunching up the surrounding hair not covered by a white bow.

She rushed out a quick thank you before her pupils fell to the clear object in hand. Lips curled south, feeling like some helpless child for needing assistance over such a simple task. A soft sensation was soon felt on top of her forehead.

"Not to worry, Rin," Meiko said once she finished delivering a peck to the girl's forehead. "I've heard online that green tea can make an excellent sleep tonic. I'll pick some up from the store while I'm out and make some for you tonight. Hopefully that will be the magic cure this time, "

Witnessing the woman's hopeful smile helped form her own, even if she doubted it would work. "I appreciate it, Meiko. Thank you," with a quick bow, she left the brunette to her cooking. Ignoring the open arms that invaded her for a hug and missing the disappointed sigh that followed.

She took a at the opposite end from Len and poured herself some juice; brow raised once she noticed the various newspaper clippings and articles littered around the boy. All about the same subject-

 _ **Shadow Clip strikes again! The cunning thief, allies name; Shadow Clip, has once again stole another of the Yokune treasure, marking the third of the seven known artifacts of the supposed cursed family. Find out which treasure; interviews; quick recap and more on Pg.45**_ From the Gekido report.

 _ **Shadow Clip! Menace or extreme visionary? Is this so called 'thief' really out for monetary value? Or is she hoping to teach us to appreciate the real treasures in our life? Find out the earth shuddering conclusion on my website, or download our new app to receive daily updates on my analyses of Shadow Clip and other nail biting news.**_ From the options of IA: Aria on the Planets.

 _ **Does the Shadow Clip have a boyfriend? If so? Is he a priceless hunk or rusted junk? Find out the shocking answer inside!**_ From the gossip times.

Fixing her specks, a droll chuckle left her cheeks after skimming over only a fraction of the reports. "My god. How such shit littered crap like this can get past the editors is amazing. Makes me worried about the future of printed press," is the thought that crossed her mind. "Still playing junior detective I see?" she addressed the lad.

Len glanced up with a grim scowl then returned to the monitor. "I'm not 'playing' anything! As Kaito obviously informed you; Shadow Clip has struck once again. So as he's youngest recruit, even if he won't admit it," he whispered. "I'm using all my resources and trusted intel to see if we can find any new clues to this bitch's identity," passion coursed through his veins as he bit into the custom sandwich made up of bacon and eggs squished in-between two pancakes.

"Language!" Meiko lashed out as she laid Rin's food on a plate. A soft apology soon followed. "I know how you feel about... Shadow Blimp was it?"

"Clip," both begrudgingly corrected.

"Right, her! But that gives you no excuse for such a ghastly mouth," during her mini lecture, she placed the still sizzling food in front of the empty stomached twin before returning to the bench to brew some coffee.

Quiet snickers left the blonde as she consumed her food. "Mhm Smo Lem? Byyh-"

"Rin! Please don't speak with your mouth full."

She listened to brunette's gruff command and swallowed back her food. "Sorry. So anyway, Len. These so called 'sources' Aren't they just a butch of conspiracy theories with nothing better to do then create hundreds of blog posts spouting bull-" she stopped, noticing Meiko's menacing glare. "...Spit. About the thief?"

"Oh, ignorant little sister."

"Stop calling me little," she pouted, taking another bite from her food.

"You underestimate the intelligence and dedication of the 'Anti-Clip' community," Rin's expression turned deadpan."You may not understand it and I'm not asking you to, but we work countless hours searching for any leads, analyzing every piece of video; photo and document we find across the web," brows narrowed, his expression becoming stern as he typed. "I'm sure as heck going to pull my weight to catch that witch. I'll prove to Kaito that I'm not just a child," he mumbled.

Freezing mid bite, the girl's mouth slowly closed, lowering her pierced food down once she heard the mix of anger and fatigue behind his words as she stared into the noticeable bags under his eyes. Her chest felt like it was being crushed, knowing full well it was her own persona that caused this suffering. "Len, I understand you want to help out Kaito and all, but this self-appointed investigation of yours? It's not healthy."

"We're not going to argue about this again," he combated his sister's rigid tone with his own. "There's nothing wrong with me investigating Clip. No need to take this conversation any further."

"Like hell that'll happen," brows furrowed, the blonde's voice grew sharper which grabbed the full attention of her brother. Paying no mind to Meiko's protest over her use of the 'H' word. "It bailiffs me how you can say your fine with such a straight face! For fuck's sake, look in the mirror and you'll see how far you've let this obsession has gone!"

"Stop exaggerating, Rin! I haven't let it take over my life."

"Bullshit it hasn't! Every-time I see you, your either on your laptop, or phone for hours trying find that stupid thief's identity!" her grip on the glass grew tighter the further she ranted. "It's gotten so bad that we sometimes find you passed out because you overworked yourself! How dumb do you have to be to not get it through your thick skull that this is a problem!" she tapped her forehead for emphasis.

Regret quickly choked her soul. Rin hated lashing out at her brother like this, yet in her mind, this was the only way she could free him from the curse known as Shadow Clip. Like many times before, this strategy seemed doomed to fail.

"Fine!" Len waved his arms above only to slam them back onto the wooden table. "Maybe I over do it with the investigation sometimes, but it's nothing compared to the hours Kaito is forced to put in! Are you saying it's okay cause he gets paid to do it?"

"That certainly helps. Besides, he doesn't have to worry about shit like school and he's smart enough to know when to take breaks!"

"You know what!" head up high, arms crossed as if he held the ace to ending this feud. "You're just jealous that I'm actually doing something meaningful with my life, instead using insomnia as an excuse to laze around the house all day!"

"Fuck right off, Len!" tension grew as Rin smashed her palms on the table, lifting to her feet to tower over her seated sibling. "I devote hours of my life to my art and you know it!"

"For what!? So you can become a manga artist? That doesn't even count as a fucking side job, sis! Unlike us cops who put our lives on the line every day to protect the innocent from danger. All you do is draw a bunch of lines on a piece of paper!"

"Shut the fuck up! You're not even a cop! And with the way you're going now, you'll never will be one!"

"You bitch!" Len now jumped to his feet, pushing back the chair a little. "Take that back!"

Teeth clenched, the two glared at one and other. Breaths aggressive, ready to tear each-other apart. "Make me, ass-wipe!"

"Midget!"

"ENOUGH! Both of you!" it wasn't until the piercing yell of the usually soothing voice barraged the two's ear drums, forcing the twins to jolt and pull their sights away from each-other. The blonde duo froze, expressions sunk when they saw Meiko, who's knuckles rested on her hips, looking like a scary monster in their eyes. "You're both brother and sister for crying out loud! You two should know better than to be fighting like this,"

They tried to argue that the other started it which only caused her scowl to somehow become fiercer. "I don't care who started it!" she rallied her finger between the two. "Both of you apologize to each-other. Now!"

Expressions shifted to gasped shock. The two glared at one and other as they sunk back into their seats. Swallowing back her pride, Rin let out a heavy sigh and bit the bullet "...I'm sorry for lashing out you."

"It's alright...Sorry for mocking your talent and calling you lazy,"

The hostile environment settled as the two shared earnest grins with each-other. "No hard feelings. I can get pretty lazy at times," she shrugged, successfully causing her brother to laugh, only for her own to follow once her brother started freaking out about spiting bits of soggy food an his laptop's screen.

A wave of relief vacated the brunette's lungs, mind now calm enough to finish brewing the scorching black liquid littered with caffeine. "Good to see you both finally getting along again," creating a mini whirlpool to finish off the drink, she took a seat between the siblings, taking a sip before entering the conversation. "Though she could have addressed it much better, Rin does have a point."

"Huh? You can't be serious?" his attention shot up to Meiko, ignoring the smug expression of the blonde girl teetering on the edge of his vision. His optics peered into her crimson eyes; no hints of levity to be found.

"I am," she retorted, voice stern but caring. "I know your passionate about catching that thief, but you have to admit, you have let it take over your life."

"Ok, Maybe I've gone a tiny bit overboard, but have you seen how overworked Kaito is because of that girl? He needs all the help he can get to stop that woman!"

Rin's body flinched, acting as though he was addressing her personally. Her brow furrowed with sagged lids, slowly consuming the rest of her meal.

"I understand that, but you have to realise that this is Kaito's job. He spent years training so he can handle this kind of work. That, and unlike him, you're still a growing boy with much more responsibilities, like school and education," she rested a hand on his tightened shoulder "Now I'm not asking you to stop-"

"Wait, you're still going to allow him to obsess over her?" the girl received an irritated glare from her brother.

"Sweetheart, please let me finish," Meiko addresses her; one soft as she shared a beaming smile. Rin could not combat such a nurturing distribution and keep quiet. "Thank you. Now back on topic. I'm not going to put a stop to this investigation; if you agree and stick to my proposal."

"'Proposal'" he mimicked, almost like a parrot would.

"Starting today, after school. You'll be allowed two hours a day to research Shadow thief, or whatever you kids call her. Any longer and we'll take away your devices and forbid you from investigating all together."

"What! That's so unfair!" he lashed out on instinct. Lips rattled, desperate to find the right words to retort. "Th-there's no way I'll be able to gather a good amount of Intel in that time!"

"I'm sorry, Len, but I have to put my foot down on this," her tone turned stern. "I'll further discuss the terms with Kaito later, for now; either take the two hour limit, or lose all Shadow thief investigation privileges. It's up to you."

Mouth agape, he took a breath ready to counter her point. Only for his body to slump down. "...Fine!" he spit out, arms at a cross. "I'll take the two hours."

"Aw, I'm sorry sweety," Meiko placed her palm on the lad's cheek. Tone light as she carefully circled the puffy skin with her thumb. "I know I'm acting like some sort of meanie enforcing such strict rules on you, but it's for your own health. You know that, right?" no response given, the woman's smile faded as the boy continued to avoid eye contact. She soon pulled away, returning to her coffee.

Stuck in the aftermath. Rin watched the two, the boy giving the cold shoulder while the woman sipped on her drink with a dejected frown. She tried to not seem obvious when glancing at the two as she took small bites from her food. Her free hand gripped the side of her pants as the unsettling feeling in her stomach returned. "Dammit, Len. Of all the careers you could have chosen, you had to be a cop. Not only that, but one that's so hell bent on capturing Shadow Clip," is what circled in her mind among the silence. "If only you knew why Shadow-I was doing this-

 **Then maybe you'd understand**

 _ **/**_

A minute passed with nothing said among the three; sounds of quit chewing; sips from drinks and clanging of metal is all that filled this awkward room.

Done with his meal, Len forced out bitter goodbyes to the ladies, sounds of his stomping feet echoed as he left to face the final school day.

Silence lingered in the room between the girls. Rin now resorted to scanning every inch of the room wishing to end this unbearable discomfort in the air. "So...Um...I don't think I ever asked. How did you sleep?" she instantly regretted opening her mouth.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, it was fine," a smile finally peered on the woman's lips; only to disappear. "Do you think I was being too strict on your brother?" she asked.

She was a little taken back by the question, but shrugged after it set in. "I don't think so. Honestly I feel you where too lenient. Go the full nine yards on his as-um-butt, and straight up ban from all things Clip."

The blonde's blunt statement and sour pout helped Meiko chuckle a little. "Now don't be mean. I know you worry about him, but flat out banning his search will not stop him. It might even make him rebel and become more motivated."

"Yeah...I didn't even think of that," her head sunk, mind jumbled as the solution to end her brother's pursuit seemed further away.

"Come on sweetheart. Turn that frown right around," Meiko's reassuring voice travelled through the girl's ears. "Don't worry about Len, once he settles down, I'm sure he'll release this is the best option for him. Now, enough about that silly old thief," a mischievous smile appeared, rummaging her hand through the girl's hair.

"Hey!" caught off guard, the blonde flailed her arms about; uncontrollable laughter escaping her lungs while she playfully tried to whack the arm away. "Stop that! Ha ha! You know I hate it when you do that," she tried to sound mad, but completely failed.

"Then why do you always laugh?" the only response Rin could muster while fixing her hair is sticking her tongue out. "So? The holidays start today. Got anything special planed for the coming mouths?"

"Eh. Not really. Probably just going to lounge about here. Drawing and playing video games 90% of the time. Well that and hanging out with Neru of course," a slight cough escaped, knowing that some of their meet ups weren't ethical.

Concern befell the woman. "Now you got me worrying about you."

"What does that mean?"

"I mean no offence. I'm just concerned that you spend a little too much time indoors and not enough time outside in the sun," she scratched the back of her neck. "Not to mention the effect it's been having on your social life."

"No need to baby me so much," slight amusement in her tone, Rin got up and placed her empty plate into the sink. "I don't mind not having other friends, as long as I have my best buddy then I'm happy, even if she can be a bit of a nerd at times," she chuckled to herself. " Besides. Summer sucks anyway. Makes me sweat too much."

A withered breath left the woman as she got up to join the shorter girl. "It can't hurt to be more active and gain more friends," the sound of rushing water making contact with kitchen utensils rattled the room. "Look, you don't have to go out everyday, but could you at least try not locking yourself inside for weeks like last holidays? Can you do that for me? Please?"

Positive her stance would not waver, the girl's demeanour changed once she noticed Meiko's sad puppy look. "Fuck! I hate it when she gives me that look," she thought. "Alright! You win," arms flailed like she flipped an invisible table. "I'll try to be more of a social butterfly. Only because that sad look is so pathetic," she mocked.

"Hey! Gotta go with what works?" admitting so casual caused the blonde to laugh, which Meiko joined in. Amused breaths drawn to a close, the woman looked over with inquire. "By the way. Can I ask a big favor from you?"

"Shot."

"Can you go check on my husband? He says he's alright, but the tone in his voice is telling me otherwise."

"Sure thing," she gave the woman a thumbs up. "I'm guessing he's in his studies, right?"

Meiko answered with a slight nod, placing a dripping plate into the filling rack. "Thanks, Rin. Let's hope seeing you will help cheer him up a bit. A shame that I couldn't get your brother to join you."

"It's alright. I'm more than capable of taking this task solo."

Receiving a smile and escaping from a surprise hug from the woman. She waved and bid farewell, skipping as she left the room. Once alone in the decent sized den, her pace slowed to a crawl, body slumped with fingers hooked to the hem of her shirt. "Well..."

 _ **Time to cheer up Kaito**_

 _ **/**_

"Yes...Yes I know. I let her get away... Again... I know, I messed up... Again, but I swear Chief I'll...Replacement? Who are you replacing me with?...Her!"

Contained within a room barley big enough to place a full sized bed, the blue haired detective sat at a fold out table, surface barley visible thanks to the mountain of paper work and other items. Light shined in from the open window, lighting up the otherwise bleak room.

"She's a high ranking criminal affairs officer though. Why would she take a small, local job like this?..." he discussed with another person on the other end of the old-styled, corded phone that also doubled as a paper weight. "'Change in scenery?' that sounds like a bunch of bull," he mumbled. "Look Chief, I know she comes highly recommended, but you'd be making a big mistake if you let her lead the case... What! I can't work for that pys-... Alright... Yes Chief...Bye Chief."

Hanging up, the man let his face fall all into his palms; back then arched forward, elbows keeping him levitated "Shit!" is the profanity that leaped from his throat as he slammed the desk; body falling back into his seat, gaze now on the ceiling.

Sounds of tiny knocks launched his neck forward. "Um...Are you okay, Kaito?" the concerned head of tiny blonde peered from the door. "Is this a bad time?" she asked, voice soft and shaky.

"Oh hey, Rin," the man tucked away his sullen expression for a lively one. "It's okay, no need to keep standing out there, you can come in if you want," he waved his way.

Presenting a small nod, the girl entered; careful to not slam the door behind before standing by his desk.

"You don't have to stand you know," he gestured to the office chair across from him. "Take a seat if you want."

"No thanks, dude. I'm fine standing," body swayed on her heels as the girl stood and scanned the room, despite visiting it many times before.

"That's alright," he fell into a relaxed dissipation. "I see you're ready for the final day of school," he gestured her outfit. "Bet you're excited for the holidays."

"Well of course," she looked down at her sailor top uniform, trading in the skirt for the boy's black trousers. "I get to stay in, play video games and dick around every-day if I wanted; who wouldn't love that? Especially since it's going to last 5 whole freaking mouths this year."

"That's right! I forgot the department of education extended the holidays this year. I forgot, what was the reason for making them longer?"

Rin stroked the tip of her chin, reaching deep into her memories. "Hm. I think the reason is to combat the rising suicide rate with young teens. Believing adding more time to the holidays will help put the pressure off the students. At least that's what I remember from the online article."

"Ah, that makes sense. I think I remember hearing that this year is just a trial run and that they may go back to the old time if it doesn't work?"

"Maybe. I'm not really sure, though?"

"I really do hope it works. Would bring a smile to my heart to see a lot less tragedies in the world."

The girl could only nod with hung lips, afraid she may say something in poor taste if she added to the topic. "So um, Kaito. What was up with that phone call earlier, if you don't mind me asking?"

His eyes quickly bounced to the phone then back to the blonde, an easy to miss sour expression appeared just to disappear. "Well aren't you the queen of eavesdroping?" corner of his lip raised, amused by the girl's annoyed expression. "It's alright, I don't mind do I start though?" questioning pupils looked to the ceiling's corner. "Well, you already know that Shadow Clip slipped away again. I did spend the whole night whining about it after all. Again, sorry about that."

"No! It's alright," she waved her hand. "Helped keep my mind off the lack of sleep," her lids soon narrowed, hands gripping at the hem. "Anyway, does her getting away have to with that phone call?"

"Yeah," his voice turned monotone. "My Chief called while I was in the middle of filing reports. He's the man with blonde hair and a comb-over if you remember?"

"Right. I do...Faintly at least."

"Anyway. He's not too happy that I've let Shadow Clip get away one to many times. So he's replacing me, this time with a criminal affairs officer."

"What! They can't take you off the case like that!" though she protested, the girl's mind felt relief that she won't be the cause of the man's stress any-more. Yet, a layer of guilt that she couldn't shake still lingered inside.

"Don't get too worked up, they haven't taken me off completely," lids narrowed as the man faced away. "Though, I'm debating whether that would've been the better option, given the person they replaced me with."

"Oh..." she looked away to a corner of the room piled with nothing but files before bouncing back to the man. "Seems like you have history with that woman. Mind sharing it with a close friend?"

Kaito's body seemed frozen by the question as he bit his lower lip; mind debating if he really wanted to share a dark stain of his history. The deciding factor finally arrived once he looked into the youthful face filled to the brim with curiosity. "Alright, I'll spill the beans as you kids say."

"Weeee...Don't say that."

"Well, whatever lingo you tikes use nowadays," the exaggerated way he waved his hand caused the blonde to chuckle. "Where do I even start though?" he asked, leaning back in his chair.

"How about the most obvious part. Her name of course."

"Right, I knew that. I was just testing you," he contained a chuckle after receiving a furrowed expression that lacked any amusement. "The woman's name is, Luka Megurine . I met her way back during the early days of my police training. Around the time me and Meiko started dating to be exact," wondrous memories rushed back as his eyes looked to the ring around his finger. "Still feel like the luckiest guy in the world that she decided to choose a dork like me,"

"Aw. That's so sweet," Rin's pitch raised, noticing the pure joy that ran along the man's lips. She desperately wanted to inquire more about how the couple meet, but her sensible side demanded info on this Luka woman. "So with Luka. I'm guessing she was a alpha bitch from the day you meet her?"

"Actually, it's the exact opposite. She was one of the nicest, if shyest, people I've ever met," an extended sigh left the man, head dropping with his eyes. "And for the longest time, we were actually friends."

"What!" she shouted, mouth wide as a open door. "You were friends?"

"Yep, the best," he answered, containing a laughter that wanted to escape because of the girl's reaction. "Back then, she was a very shy girl who really lacked in social skills. I even tried talking to her during introduction day at the academy. She let out a hard to make out 'hi' then just stood their looking at her feet while I tried to make conversation," he quickly paused to stretch his arms. "After a few awkward seconds, I could tell she didn't want me around, so I left her alone."

"That's a pretty bad first impression on her part. How exactly did you two become friends from that?"

"Well, it wasn't that day when we became friends," the detective rubbed his shaven chin. "I don't exactly remember how much time passed after that, but it was during one of our physical exams where she had trouble clearing the course, falling to her stomach out of exhaustion. Every-other student pointed and laughed while she laid gasping for air. She tried to hide it, but I could barley see the tears sliding down her cheeks."

Hanging on every word, Rin's hands gripped together; knuckles turned to white. "Bunch of fucking pricks," she thought. "What did you do?"

"I did what my heart told me. I ran over and helped her to the finish line."

"Didn't everybody mock you as well?"

He showed a small nod. "Why wouldn't they? I was helping the 'wimp' out, but I didn't care of course. Someone needed my help, so I helped," he shrugged. "It's the reason I was in police academy after all," Kaito felt proud when he saw a grin peer on the girl's face. "Needless to say, she opened up to me after that incident and we began to hang out more and more. After time, our friendship grew into an unbreakable bond," quick silence filled the room, the whimsy that came from nostalgic memories broke away like fragile glass. "At least, I thought we had an unbreakable bond."

The blonde youth couldn't help but match the melancholy expression of her friend, sucking on her upper lip while debating whether she should continue asking questions. "...What exactly happened between you two?"

Wavy breaths left his nostrils, eyes became heavy while he held back the weight of the liquid that begged to leave him. "S-Something horrible happened to her. I can't bare to repeat out of respect. I'm sorry," Rin's nod singled that it was okay. "All I can say is that day changed her; the shy, but kind hearted woman who only wanted to protect people died that day. Replaced by a tyrant who will go to horrible lengths to catch a crook."

"'Horrible lengths?' what do you mean by that?" she asked, feeling she would not like the answer.

"Basically, she'll go to great extremes to catch a criminal, no matter how small the crime may be. Putting many innocent lives on the line if she has to, justifying her actions by arguing that she took a criminal off the streets," he crossed his arms. "That new found ideology caused many arguments between us. Each day we slowly grew further apart, becoming enemies in what seemed like a blink of the eye at the time. We soon parted ways once I became a detective and she left for military training for a couple of years. We haven't spoken since."

Swallowing back nothing, the blonde's chest pumped as if she finished running a marathon. Stomach felt like it twisted into a knot in response to the thought of going up against such a individual. "I'm sorry to hear that," despite feeling like a mass of frighted cockroaches scurried within her stomach, she presented a calm exterior to not rouse any suspicion. "Really sucks that you have to work under that psychopath."

The corner of the man's lip pulled up, despite finding the girl's insult a little mean. "Yeah. It does, but I'll be fine," he tapped his chest, forcing an air of confidence. "As long as I still have a job and can still work on the Clip case, then I can manage; even if it's a pain in my ass."

Rin did her best to match the uplifting tone of the man's chuckle, doing a terrible job masking the bleakness she felt.

It was easy for Kaito to spot the lukewarm vibe she was giving off. "Enough about that bitter subject," he waved his hand, as if physically changing the subject. "Next week is going to be pretty busy for all of us," his posture lifted, excitement rushed though his veins.

"Oh!...Yeah, next week!" her body clenched, like she got caught stealing a cookie. Sporting a stretched out smile, her pupils spun around the room, hoping to find some sort of hint about what the man was talking about. "It'll indeed be...Busy..."

He's brow raised, slight grin asked if she was serious. "You forgot, haven't you?"

"No!...Yes, sorry," she whispered, rubbing her arm.

"It's alright," he said, soft chuckle escaping him. "Do you remember me talking about my sister by any chance? "

"Oh, right her!" she snapped her figures. "I remember now, she'll be living with us after studying in...America?" the detective responded to her unsure look with a nod. "Right! What was her name again, Miki...Maiko?"

Kaito shook his head. "No silly, her name is Miku," a satisfied sigh left his chest. "Will be nice to have her around again."

"Yeah...I'm happy for you."

The man picked up on the lack of enthusiasm in Rin's voice. "I know this will be a little awkward for you, having what you consider a stranger suddenly pop in out of nowhere and living with us, but it'll be okay!" the blonde's eyes soon met his, singling just how uncomfortable she felt with the idea. "After all, she is my sister, what more recommendation do you need? Also, she's only a year older than you, so I'm sure you two should hit it off."

"Yeah. Your probably right," the teen dipped her head, eyes on the floor still gripping to the dread she felt in her stomach.

Before Kaito could say anything to lift her spirits, a loud, familiar sound rang though the air, one a certain man with a red cap made when picking up money. The blonde was now looking into the screen of her cellphone. "Oh! That's Neru, she's outside the house waiting for me," she put the tiny device.

"I'm guessing she'll be the one driving you to school, huh?"

"Yep. Sorry to cut our conversation off like this," she presented a quick bow his way. "But if I don't leave now we'll be late for school. Plus, I'd rather avoid getting an earful from her for taking so long."

Kaito smiled at the girl's pout. "No need to be sorry. Don't let my woes get in the way of your education."

"What education? Beside the nerds, like Neru," she said under her breath. "All of us, including the teachers, just dick around watching movies or playing video games all day."

"Okay, then don't let me get in the way of that. Now shoo," he playfully signalled for the girl to get out of the room. "Go enjoy the day with your friend."

"All right, all right. I'm going old man," she couldn't help but become infected by the contiguous laughter the man started. "I'll see you later, Kaito,"

"See ya, Rin. Enjoy the best day of school."

"I'll try," she said before leaving the man to his own priorities.

Listening to the girl's footprints quickly become softer before disappearing; the man took a quick breath through his nose, elbow laying on the arm rest as he placed his head on the bones of his fingers, watching the closed door.

His mind jumped to a certain day that changed his life forever. "I can't believe it's almost been three years since you two entered our lives and we became this one weird family. Such an amazing ride it has been," gone as quick as it arrived, the man's lip's fell with his baggy eyelids. "Though you two have improved so much in this short time, I wish I could have somehow prevented the hell you were both put through-

 **No kids deserve to lose their parents like that**

 _ **To be continued** _

* * *

**Wow. Sorry for the long chapter. Really had a lot of new players to introduce in this part.**

 **Thanks for reading. Leave a review if you want.**


	4. The Third Member

**Destination: On the road**

 **Time: 8:20AM**

 **/**

"So what's the plan?" Rin asked, letting her body sink into the black leather seat that felt softer than her pillow. Hand hung out the side of the shiny yellow car that lacked a roof, taking in the cool breeze that rushed though her hair, feeling like heaven along her sizzled skin."We stopping at the warehouse first, or are we going to suffer through school first?" her undivided attention soon locked to the side mirror, reflecting a mother holding her little daughter's hand as they crossed the road.

A lump appeared in her throat as she watched the happy faces shrink and slowly disappear in the distance.

"Are you insane!" the bellow of her friend snapped the girl out of her trance. She turned her attention to the pony haired blonde whose hands were gripped at the wheel. "No way in hell am I going to school with a stolen crown in my backpack!" she pointed to the bag in the shape of a strange, brown character sitting on her lap. "We are definitely stopping off at the warehouse first. Damn it! We could have avoided doing this now if father didn't come home early last night."

"Yeah, that was a freaking pain," the short haired blonde snickered. "It was funny to see you freak so much out over his text, though, even if you almost gave me a heart attack with that illegal U-turn you pulled to get me home," she forced back her laugh when witnessing Neru's nasty glare. "Still, it was a surprise to hear your father was coming home so soon. Wasn't he supposed to be working overseas for the rest of the month?"

"He still is, what happened last night was more of a pit stop to his next destination," the older blonde's grip became tighter on the wheel. "He didn't even wish me goodbye this morning, just left another stupid note," Rin picked up the bitterness in the girl's voice and the sullen frown that accompanied it. Lacking the right words, she decided to stay quit. "Besides!" Neru's mood unnaturally shot up, making the younger teen flinch. "Our cohort is waiting for us at the warehouse, so we have no choice but to stop off there first."

Lenses on her friend, expression blank as she picked up on the forced change in subject. She decided to go along with her friend's wishes. "Are you suggesting we-" an overblown gasp escaped as she cupped her cheeks. "Ditch school? Who are you and what have you done with the real Neru?"

Her eyes roll. "I know your revelling at the thought, but we are not skipping school...Completely," she whacked the passenger in the arm after gaining a sly look. "Shut up! It's way too early for your silent sarcasm. I swear, once we're done locking that crown away we are heading straight to school, whether you like it or not."

"Really? And what BS excuse will you come up with for being late?"

"Ah! Simple minded fool. You underestimate my superior intellect," she tapped her noggin; no concerns over the unimpressed glance from her friend. "I'll just tell them my car battery died and it took us awhile to find a kind stranger willing to help jump-start it. Simple and straight to the point."

"What if they start asking questions?" she asked, fixing up her glasses.

"This is the last day of school, Rin. If my hypothesis is correct, even the most devoted of teachers won't be bothered to probe my story any further," Neru sat tall with a smile full of confidence and pride. "Pretty clever, huh?"

"Dishonest? Yes. Clever? Debatable," a victorious chuckle left the girl. Her friend playfully stuck her tongue out in response. Turning right at the street, the smaller girl spotted the arcade pass by. She turned back, longing eyes glued to building surrounded by many rowdy kids, teens and young adults. "Sure you don't what to ditch after? We can get something to eat, like a burger and spend the day playing 'Hello Planet?' Who knows, you might even be able to beat my high-score this time," she wrapped her arms behind her neck, not believing in such a scenario.

"Not a chance in hell. We are heading straight to school right after. Kicking your ass in that game will have to wait till after."

"Nark."

The two spend some time debating who's better at the game, ultimately drawing to an unsatisfying conclusion.

Letting her body sink into the soft seat, the blonde decided to switch subjects. "Moving on from the fact you'll never beat my high-score in a million years," she relished in the driver's vexed expression. "How did it go keeping the Tiara at your place last night? It wasn't too much of a hassle for you, was it?" Rin's tone shifted to a lower pitch as she looked to her with curious optics.

"No need be concerned, it was no hassle at all." she glanced over to the teen once she stopped at a traffic light, sharing a care free smile. "I made sure to hand guarding duty over to my old friend 'Mr Domo' here," she tapped the strange bag on her lap. "Sides. My dad is not what we call the 'attentive' type. Could have probably left the Tiara sitting smack centre of the lounge room table and he wouldn't even notice."

"Better not try that shit, or we could both be fucked."

"Elegantly put my ostentatious chum," before receiving the green light to go, Neru ruffled through the blonde's hair, cheeky grin peered after raising the girl's annoyance level to maximum heights. "Honestly. I'm not stupid enough to pull a ridiculous stunt like that."

"I don't know if I can believe that," she quipped, fixing up her hair. "Did you get a chance to take a good look at the Tiara by any chance?"

Neru shook her head. "Even if father was to busy with work to pay me any mind, I wasn't going to risk him seeing me with it, so I just left the crown in my bag. Sides, you're the geek for all this archaeological junk. I'm just here to hack databases and keep you from getting yourself killed."

"It's not just mere 'junk'!" the girl retorted; energy now spiked to high levels. "Thanks to archaeologists. These long forgotten items; which you severely under appreciate; can help us glimpse into the past to not only find out how we once lived as a society, but to learn from the ancestors of the past. Plus, the stories that these relics hide are really fascinating shit. Take the Tiara for example."

Rin pointed to the bag hiding the treasure, not picking up on the girl's rolled eyes and groan. "For the longest time, we thought that the first emperor of Japan was Jimmu of the Yamato clan, but the recent discovery of the Yokune treasures may tell us otherwise," she paused to swallow and take a breath. "So far, the theory is that the Yokune clan may have ruled for a short time before the Yamato clan ceased power. Now this is all still basic speculation at this point and could very well be false, but after examining the Tiara myself last night; which archaeologists have yet to find the name of its owner; most likely belonged to the real first empress,Yomi, in my opinion. I can just tell by the material used and how much its aged that this was made years before the rule of Jimmu. Reason why is-

"Alright, Rin! Enough," Neru intervened, putting her hand up wanting to telepathically cover the girl's mouth. "History is great and all, but I'm not really into getting dumped with information about ancient dead people."

"Oh come on. This stuff is interesting though!"

"Not to me it isn't. Gotta remember, I'm more into figuring how to string lines of code together and other terms you don't understand. Plus," she darted her eyes around. "I don't want outsiders to eavesdrop on our conversation."

"Humph, fine," the girl's body slummed down, face in an exaggerated pout. "Did you ever realise how much of a nerd you are?"

"Says the one that geeked out over dead people and old crap for a good minute," a soft smile emerged once she saw her sight impaired chum failing to hide her smile. Her own smile quickly dissipated once an important question crawled back to the forefront of her mind. "Say Rin, I need to ask you something very important, you know, about this mission of ours," halting at another light, Neru waited for her friend to respond but got no replay. "Did you hear me, Ri- Oh," it wasn't until she noticed what distracted the girl.

Missing her friend's rambles, Rin's sight drew too a group of trim girls chatting among each-other, not to much older compared to her. She gawked over the group giving who looked to be ditching, trying not to show too much interest while she skimmed over their bodies, perving over the risky outfits they wore and decent sized busts they had. Most wore hot pants while one wore a mini skirt that would show a lot more than intended if a strong wind blew by; tops showing much of their midriff with few emphasising their cleavage; some even wore headgear and sunglass which didn't help the girl's hormones. The blonde was clearly sub-come by their beauty.

She knew she would be putting the question off, but she decided it'd be the best not to sour her friend's day. "Watch out, Rin! Your lady boner is showing," Neru teased, driving past the green light.

"Huh!" the girl pulled away from ogling the other girls, cheeks now felt like hot. "R-real mature!" her voice cracked as she looked to the spotless carpeting below.

"'Mature?' Coming from the biggest pervert I know? Seriously, my guy friends got nothing on you," the longer haired blonde laughed.

"You're one to talk!" she shared a tempered glare, revealing her rosy cheeks. " Don't think I don't notice the way you practically droll over the 'hot' guys when we watch anime together!"

"Defensive now aren't we?" brows raised, the corner of the driver's lips pulled up; loving every minute of this. "Can't deny it though, anime boys are freaking hot. Still, my reactions are nothing compared to how 'excited' you look when you see practically naked anime girls in those same shows. Sometimes I question if I should leave the room and give you some 'private time?'"

"Argh!" with the laughter of her friend being the sound of her defeat. Rin covered her bright red face that looked ready to explode. "Fuck you..."

It took a few seconds for the small haired blonde to recover and sit comfortably again with clear cheeks. "Seriously though, if we spot those girls again after school, I can pull over so you can ask one of them out if you want?"

"I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think any of those girls play for the same team I do," Rin said. "Besides, I'm done getting my heart broken. I'll just stick with my fantasies and the endless amount of porn on the internet."

"Annnd I think we officially reached into the too much information territory of this conversation."

Rin's deadpan glare pierced the driver like daggers. "Says the one who pried into my laptop and found the websites I frequent."

Raising her right hand, the teen stuck up her index finger. "One: You were the one who gave me your laptop to research ways to beat the super boss in 'Kingdom Karts 2'," she then raised her middle finger. " And two: not my fault you forgot to shut down your laptop properly from what I assume was the night before," a quick chuckle escaped her. "Image my surprise when I opened your laptop and was suddenly bombarded by naked woman in very lewd positions."

"...You were never supposed to discover that part of me," she stared forlorn at the busy road a head, sucking her bottom lip dry. "No one was, not anyone I care about at least."

The driver's avid lips sunk, glancing over to her friend before focusing back on the road. "Listen to me, Rin," her tone became strong and clear. "You shouldn't be ashamed about liking girls. Now I know you're worried that your family will not accept that you're a lesbian, but I feel you have nothing to worry about. Sure, they may ask some questions and Len will properly tease you about it in his own brotherly way, but I'm confident they'll love you no less just for fancying girls. Sides, Len and Kaito like girls too, so if you think about it, Meiko is actually the minority of the household," a toothy smile peered, hoping her joke will get her friend to cheer up.

Much to her friend's dismay, Rin showed no reaction; keeping the same expression while she continued to watch the painted white lines that zoomed by them.

"Of course, that's just my advice. You don't have to tell them if it makes you feel uncomfortable," a sigh left the driver, fingers tapping at the wheel as she carefully considered what to say. "Think of it this way, if I can accept you for who you are then I'm sure they will."

Negating the sounds of rushing wind and other vehicles driving by, an uncomfortable silence befell the two as the small haired blonde continued to stare off in the distance. "...Say Neru," she decided to speak up, voice frail but clear.

"Yeah, Rin?"

The small blonde pulled away from the allure of the black sea of pavement ahead and looked Neru's way, lids sunk as she shared a small grin. "Thanks for accepting me."

A soft smile befell the long haired blonde as she peered at girl's fragile expression. "Of course, Rin."

 **What are friends for**

 **/**

 **Destination: Abandoned Warehouse**

Among the deserted suburb at the corner of the city, littered by not only; dust; dirt and dis-guarded rubbish, but also rumors of vengeful spirits that cause great harm to the poor souls who wonder this small suburban town, never to be seen again. It's still a wonder to the residents of Genima how such a well populated area became the ghost town today. Some say it was supernatural while others chalk it up to government conspiracies.

Whatever the reason. The lack of peering eyes and the stigma surrounding this town make this a perfect place for the trio to hold their operation, even if it was a far drive from their own homes.

Driving down a place called 'Black Vow avenue', the duo pull up to an old, abandoned warehouse lost to time. Majority of the windows are smashed due to reasons unknown; rust formed at the top the metal roof; graffiti covering almost every itch of the otter exterior. It is still unknown to the girls the origin of this factory, but what they can gather is that time had shown little mercy towards it.

"Come on, Rin! You have to admit that it's the perfect code name for me!"

Parking just outside the building, the two grab what they need and exit out of the car. Rin deciding to leap over the door, much to her friend's dismay. "No way! 'Hackz Lord' is the dumbest idea for a code name I've ever heard," the blonde argued, strolling beside the older teen into the bleak building.

"Says the one who goes by 'Shadow Clip'. Only an idiot would come up with a name like that," while strolling, the older blonde reaches into the pocket strap around her leg and pulls out a flip phone and began searching the web.

"I'll have you know that the media came up with that bad-ass name for me, thank-you-very-much," she rocked her hips back and forth which caused Neru's brows to furrow once she noticed the movements in the corner of her eyes. "Regardless, 'Loud Mouth' is a much more fitting name with how much you like to bitch so much."

The teen let out an aggressive grunt; visual attention focused on the tiny screen. "'Hackz Lord' is still better."

An echoed laugh from the small blonde ended the conversation, leaving the teen scanning her phone, dissatisfied with the results.

Inside, the interior was no better than it's exterior; littered with similar graffiti along the walls; glass shards, tiny metal and other junk spread across the floor; mold that climbed up to the ceiling and healthy grass popping up through cracks on the floor.

This place was an over all mess, yet the small group made it work. Pushing aside whatever junk out of the way to make a clear space in the centre, which rested a store bought table big enough to fit whatever equipment they needed with three wooden chairs surrounding it and a fresh bulb handing above.

Stopping in their tracks, the two spot an older woman with gray hair tied into a pony tail; outfit giving away her lawful occupation. Soft breaths escaping her lips; head tilted back with her hat covering her eyes. She seemed unaware of the pair of teenagers glancing her way.

An irritated sigh left the older teen. "Once again, we find our dear teammate napping on the job. Seriously? How can she even sleep in a damp, creepy place like this anyway?"

"Aw, cut her some slack, Neru," Rin patted her friend's back before running over to the sleepy head. "She was probably forced to spend the night running about and filling out paper work thanks to our shenanigans. Would make even the best of us exhausted."

"Or maybe she just spent it drinking-again," arms at a cross, the girl's expression switched to a scowl while she looked over to the sprayed art over to the left.

With rolled optics, the shorter blonde took a hold of the woman's shoulder. "Come on. Wakey wakey, Haku. Time to raise and shine," tone thin, the girl softly rocked the woman back and forth, hoping she'd respond. She shot a silly smile at the girl behind her; who silently watched with a frown.

"Hmmmm," after half a minute, groggy murmurers crept from the woman's mouth; breath deploying a familiar foul odor that caused the girl's face to clench after it invaded her nasal glands. Hands took no time getting to work; right index figure and thumb squeezed on her nose to shield from the pungent smell. Lifting her hat, Haku's eyes flickered open to reveal the scarlet hue behind them. In a daze, the woman blinked a few times before remembering where and why she was here. A subtle grin peered once she noticed the two blondes beside her. "Oh, hi guys," a large yarn interrupted her speech. "When did you two arrive?" she asked, cleaning the flacks from her eyes.

"Long enough to see you living up to the good ol' lazy cop stereotype," Rin playfully retorted. "Want me to get you a doughnut to really nail it in?"

The woman let off a soft chuckle. "Well, can you blame me for being lazy?" she rouse from her chair and stretched out her back."I did have to make sure every other officer were positioned in spots where you could easily sneak by them; not to mention keeping Kaito distracted, which isn't a bad thing mind you, just a little stressful to juggle with everything else; plus the mountains of paper work that needed to be filled thanks to your other persona. Those are never fun," a sigh left the woman just as she finished her stretches.

"I know," soft optics drew to the woman as the corner of her lip raised. "Thanks, Haku. No way in hell could I have never gotten this far without you."

Haku mustered up the effort to share a grin, despite feeling a bit dreary. "Don't mention it. After all, you're not the only one who wants to find out the full story behind your mother's case," a frown buried with questions danced along her lips as she pondered the events of that day. Seeing the sadness that loomed over the girl's eyes, she realised it'd be best to keep it to herself "Anyway! Neru! How are you doing?" she quickly turned the older teen, showing her biggest grin. "Caught up with that anime I recommended?"

"Huh?" paying little mind to the conversation, Neru pulled away from her phone's screen and looked up to the woman, piecing together the bits of the question. "Oh, yeah I'm good..." it didn't take long for her to look back at the phone. "Still haven't started the second ark of 'Die La Die' yet, but I'll get to it soon."

"Don't take too long now. Already suffering enough here holding back the spoilers," Haku let off a chuckle. "So, I'm guessing you have the Tiara on you?" she asked, tone taking a fairly gruff turn.

A few seconds passed before she nodded; tapping the bag wrapped behind her. "...Like always, I've got it tucked safely away."

"Great! Could you bring it here. I would like to have a closer look at it myself."

Obeying with a nod, Neru wrapped the bag around to her stomach, reaching inside and scrabbling through some of her school stuff before finally pulling out the metal item that felt warm in her hands. "Here, go nuts."

With a quick thanks, the woman took little time in scanning over the object, high volts of energy caused through as she became enticed by the tiny silver jewels that formed together like vines wrapped around a tree. She took in every bump and crevice as she ran her fingers along them.

"My god! Such amazing craftsman ship. How much care the craft-smith must have put when he embedded the jewels is simply incredible, even with the slight marks of age I can tell this was clearly made by no amateur."

"Wait a minute," Rin intervened. "You're a part of the case. Don't they usually let you see the treasure during the investigation?"

"Not this time they didn't. Since our first 'failed' attempt to capture Shadow Clip; well to be more accurate, you; none of us lower level officers were even allowed to peek at it," she stated, checking if the Tiara could fit on her head. It didn't.

"So why is that?" Neru asked.

"Simple. One of the theories that the chief proposed is that there is a cop who is in cahoots with Shadow Clip. Reason is that he can think of no other way that she...you," she pointed to Rin. "Can have access to such equipment and training without the help of someone with athletic experience and knowledge of the black market. So the idea of a double agent is in the cards right now."

"Clearly they are so off the mark with that. No cops could possibly be working with Shadow Clip, right? Officer Haku?" though successfully causing great amusement with the tallest of the trio, the blonde couldn't help but furrow after gaining no response form her best friend; who sat on the chair more focused on her phone. "What the heck is going on with her? Why does she always act so distant during our meetings?" is what ran though her mind.

"Seriously though, Rin," Haku's now sudden shift in tone pulled the blonde back into reality. "While they lack the evidence connecting my involvement with you, it's a detriment that the possibility is on the table," the woman bit her lip. "I know I probably don't need to say this, but all of us, including you Neru," the girl looked up with irate lids before looking back at her phone. "Need to be extra careful from here on, if they find just one piece of evidence that links me to Shadow Clip, then it'll be the end of all of us. We on the same page here?"

Saying nothing, the short haired blonde nodded with fire filling her optics. The second blonde on the other hand, looked to her friend, a frown riddled with concern appeared after seeing such eagerness.

That out of the way, the woman eased up on her shoulders and presented herself with a clam smile. "Anyhow, I think we need to put aside all that doom and gloom for now. Come look at this," Haku gestured for the small girl to come closer, which she obeyed. "See these three big emeralds embedded here," she knelled down so the blonde could see and pointed to the three emeralds that stood out in the centre.

"Yeah. I noticed them when I was running with the Tiara in my hand," she gestured her actions as if reenacting the scene. "Notice, also, how their in the shape of a star; the same symbol we found on the other treasures, leading credance to our hypothesis that this is the Yokune clan's crest."

"The word is actually 'credence' but I get ya. That's not what stands out to me though," an intrigued glance from the blonde bounced the woman's way. "What I'm trying to wrap my mind around is the fact there are three on this Tiara while the other treasures only have one," the gray haired woman began to rub her forehead.

Pushing back her teetering glasses, the teen softly bit down on her right thumb, mind working over time on this potential riddle. Staring into the three stars closely, a rush of ecstasy overflowed once she formed a theory. "I think I may have an idea!"

"What have you got?"

"You see these!" she pointed out the three stars, receiving an agreed response from the woman. "Notice how each one is a different size; one in the middle being the biggest; left the smallest and right somewhere in the middle."

"Right. I noticed that," Haku said. "You think the sizes have some sort of meaning?"

"Damn straight I do!" Rin pounded her chest with such conference that it even cured the woman's sluggish state. "Think about it, who is always beside the Emperor during his rule?"

Scratching her head, the woman pondered for a few seconds, struggling to form an answer. Her eyes enlarged once an idea struck. "Oh! I get it. So what you're saying is the big star represents the emperor and the medium star is the Empress."

"If my theory is true, then that is correct."

"Okay that's answered, but what is the little one supposed to be?"

Branding a smug smile, the blonde started by pointing to the biggest diamond. " Emperor-" then to the middle sized one. " Empress-" and finally to the smallest. "Last but not least- Crown, or child if you prefer."

Taking a second to process, the woman's mouth became oval; eyes widened and sparkled like a kid on Christmas. "Amazing dedication Rin!" she slapped herself on the head before taking a closer look at the emeralds, ashamed that she didn't see it before. "The fact that the Yokune clan was extremity loyal when it came to family really helps drive home your theory."

"Oh, I don't think I need such praising," she boasted, stretching out her arms and wrapping them behind her head. "As you said, it's just a theory."

Haku rolled her eyes. "Alright, no need for the false modesty," a flinch left the blonde after the woman casually slapped her shoulder.

"Ow! I don't know whether to report you for child abuse or police brutality right now?"

Adding one more harmless slap to the grinning teen, the two continued to analyse the Tiara, picking apart the smallest bit of interest; even a loose jewel caused great speculation among the two.

Feeling like a third wheel at this point, Neru continued to search the latest posts on her favourite social sites; mind unable to comprehend much of what the two gushed about. Getting distracted by posts such as the latest technological feats, to jokes involving ponies, the blonde decided to check the time, body clamping up once she saw it. "Shit! When did it become 11:30!"

Scrabbling to her feet, phone still open in hand, she ran over to the two of vastly different heights still chatting among each-other. "Guys! I know your getting int-"

"Okay, now this is getting ridiculous, Rin. You can't tell me the tip of the Tiara is sharp because it also served as a weapon of self-defense? That's just stupid."

"No it's not! Archaeologists discovered small, but suitable, traces of blood on the tip. Now you can't say she never used this to slice the neck of her assassins and thieves!?" the sharp, blaring tone of the two's debate drowned out the long haired blonde.

"Okay. I know you two are getting into this whole, geek fight here, trust me I can relate, bu-"

"Your fantasies are deluded little missy. A Tiara used to slice people's necks? Now that may make for an excellent, gore filled manga, but this is real life, not that fictional dribble," with crossed arms, the gray haired woman closed her eyes and took a calming breath to wash away her profound thoughts. "Someone must have accidentally cut their finger on it; given how sharp it is."

"Don't call me little!" Rin stopped her foot, flashing her white sharpies. "While I admit the boring possibility that someone just cut themselves on it is very plausible, it still doesn't explain why the tip was made so sharp in the first place? You'd think an expert craft-smith would avoid such an oversight, especially when royalty is involved."

Neru lids fell, realising she was stuck in the middle of their rally. Arms at her side, she rolled her hands into clenched fists, teeth clashed with one and other as her face became stemming red. She had enough. "SHUT THE FUCK UP ALREADY!"

The two ladies froze and turned to the feral teen, eyes widened like they were looking at a strange beast. "Um, Neru. You know if you wanted our attention, you could have asked politely," Haku addressed in a stern tone.

"Yeah, and you wonder why we gave you the code name 'Loud Mouth'," Rin soon added, rubbing a finger in her right ear to combat the ringing.

With an agitated grunt, the teen placed her palms on her waist and stood tall. "Oh, sorry for interrupting your geek talk," she exaggerated her speech. The oldest woman almost taking her words to heart and accepting her 'apology'. "I'm sure you two haven't realised yet, but it's passed 11:30!" she shoved the phone in their faces, straining her throat in the process.

While the glasses toting girl was unfazed by the news, the woman slapped her forehead, eyes forced open with worry. "Shit! It's that late already!" in panic, she pushed the Tiara into the tiny blonde's hands before wrapping around and pushing her from behind. "Hurry up! You have to lock that treasure away, or I'll be late for work; which you probably realise; is a bad thing for all of us!"

"Alright! I'm going. I'm going. Christ on a bike," she sped up her movements, freeing herself from the woman's incessant shoving. "Guess that means we'll be skipping those training exercises for the day, eh Haku?" Rin quickly shared a cheeky grin as she lead the two further into the massive space neglected by time.

"Oh, don't even try that with me. Just for that, I'll be adding on the work we missed onto our next training session," despite the girl's groans, Haku didn't fold in her decision.

Stepping over and maneuvering past rusted, worn out junk that increased in quantity as they ventured further inside, avoiding contact with the rusted metal that laid about. They soon stop at a white shutter door at the end of the warehouse. The rusted lock that rested at their feet kept this side of the structure from the elements of the outside world, chipped paint along the surface provided further evidence of father time's influence.

That relic of the past is not the reason why the girls made their way down here though. Their sights fell to the safe before it, one that was no taller than a kindergartner. Invested by the trio, the state of this metal box riddled with secrets stood out among the place with, glistening and shined with life that contrasted to the dead wasteland of rust and neglect that surrounded it.

Rin glanced over to the two. She received a soft nod from the officer, which she returned the gesture with a smile. What really caught her eye was Neru, who was avoiding eye contact, continuing to fiddle with her phone. The younger teen swore that something was troubling her, but decided not to prod since she had other matters to attend to.

Knelled down, she inputs the four digit code on the buttoned dial pad. Now unlocked, the girl opens the door, revealing three layers of shelves to the world, each hosting a different category of items. Bottom shelf contained recent books, documents and research on the long history of the Yokune family; top shelf rested special hand written research notes about the treasure's, all signed with a signature that read 'Noriko'; finally, the middle shelf stayed reserved for the treasures themselves.

She places the Tiara in the appointed spot, right in the middle of a tiny pendent in the shape of a star and a statue of a strange fox like creature riding on-top of a dust devil.

"Only four more to go," she whispered to herself before closing the door. Done, she places her palm on the metal door and closed her eyes, letting out soft breaths as she let the sensation of the cold, smooth surface rush through her body. This helped calm the teen and reassure the doubts that constantly crawled along the back of her mind.

Behind her, the two waited patiently for the teen to finish. Haku's arms crossed while she gazed to the floor. Neru looked over her phone, desolate eyes square on her friends back; mouth left barely open as small puffs escaped it. Stomach aching as a thousand thoughts ran through her mind.

With over a minute passing, Rin gained the strength to stand up. She ran her hand along the top surface of the metal box, letting one last thought slip her mind. "Funny, I'm still no closer to finding the truth, yet I still believe that if gather all of you, I'll finally be able to prove aunt Ruko's innocence and finally discover-

 **My mother's real killer**

 **/**

Wishing goodbyes to their undercover ally. The two girls once again hit the road. Sitting in silence as they let the cool wind blow away the intense thoughts that felt like a world war was going on it their mind. Rin stared blankly at the road ahead, while Neru focused on getting to school.

"Neru?"

"Hm, yeah."

Looking into the wondering yellow optics, Rin shuffled in her seat, mouth left a gape for a second unsure how to word what rested in her mind. "You doing okay?"

Swallowing back some spit, the driver keep her eyes on the road, forcing her expression to seem bare. "Yeah. I'm fine...Why do you ask?"

"I don't know," the girl shrugged. "I've just noticed you seem distant when we met up at the warehouse, is everything alright?"

In silence, Neru's head tilts down, pupils at the steering wheel while her mind debated whether to reveal what was really on her mind. "...You worry about me too much," she stated, putting on her best smile. "If there's anything wrong, you know I'll always come to you about it. Right?"

"Yeah," a chuckle void of humor left the girl. She could see though her friend's cheery facade, but didn't want to accidentally push her button with more questions.

 **I know that**

 _ **To be continued**_

* * *

 **Another chapter now complete. I hope I did well trying to explain the history of the Yokune treasure and while fitting real world history into it, not the biggest history buff here.**

 **Anyway, leave a review if you want.**

 **Later.**


	5. Luka's arrival

_**Destination: Genima Local police headquarters**_

 _ **Time: 1:15PM**_

 **/**

Among the wood tiled sea of office desks and chairs lies the city's biggest holding ground of men and woman of all variety whose duty is to uphold the law. Many rooms are littered by stationary; megatons of paper work and other personal items that helped make this place seem like mini homes to the officers.

One group in this urban ocean is tasked with investigating a certain; dark haired thief. Normally the small crew would be busy roaming through research notes, evidence and leads in attempts to find her true identity. The occasional off-topic conversation slipping out at times.

Today was different.

The small room now bustled with unique voices, all in discussion over the new leader who would be taking over. In the mist of the chatter, a gray haired woman busts in; desperate puffs escaped her lungs as the others turn her way. "Am I late?" she asks in between breaths.

Most didn't answer and turned their attention back to their conversation. Only three officers, who all sat together, continued to look her way. "Ohhhh~ Sorry, Haku," a man with brown hair and white streaks responded, looking to his watch. Legs lifted onto the desk as he balanced on the back legs of the chair. "But you're fifteen minutes...Early," a laugh escaped him, watching her face shift from worry to annoyed.

"No need to be an ass, Al," a person with long, flowing red hair in an female officers uniform whacked him in the arm.

Al settled down as he rubbed his arm. "I couldn't help it, Ritsu. The look on her face was just so priceless," such a reaction caused the others to roll their eyes. "Still," his attention shifted back to the woman. "Quite callus of you to get here with such little time to spare. Bit unprofessional if you ask me," a cheeky smile danced along his lips.

"Hm! I'm not sure how to feel about being lectured by the biggest slacker I know," Haku quickly retorted with a confident grin, pulling up a spare chair and sitting with the group; right arm resting over the back.

"She's got you there," the red head added.

"Hmph! I see how it is, everyone ganging up on poor old Al, huh?" an annoyed chuckle left him while he shared a nasty glare with everyone. "Well! You can all keep your rude, snarky comments to yourselves, cause I'm not the slacker you all wish for me to be. Hell, I make this team not only look professional, but sexy as well," he wrapped his arms around his head like he had won a national debate.

Soft grunts and quiet comments bounced along the three as Al basked in his own, self-produced glory. "But Al?" a soft spoken, white haired man with a bit of his hair in the shape of a P spoke up. "Aren't you the one who always whines when you have to do anything that doesn't involve catching crooks?"

"That doesn't make me a slacker if I still get the job done," a shrug left him. "It just makes me a whiner. If you all are going to insult me, at least do it right."

Moderate laughter left the three, much to the surprise of the man. Didn't stop him from getting in on the fun. Not even a minute passed before they all settled down. In that down time, the pony tailed officer noticed someone was missing. "Say, where's Teto?" she asked the group, but her sights set on the white head.

"She's in Kaito's office," the youngest, as well as smallest, of the group pointed to the plain wooden door at the end of the room. A small, removable plaque that read out the detective's name built into it. "Like the rest of us. She feels awful that we pretty much caused Kaito to lose his authority over the case and is helping him pack up his stuff."

A loud sigh left the red head; looking down at their cupped hands that rested on their black skirt. "If only my code's algorithm was more secure than she wouldn't have been able to break in."

"Hey, don't just burden yourself with all the blame. If I wasn't hell bent on arguing with Teto over the most trivial crap, then we could have caught her right there and then. If anything, her getting away was my fault."

"You guys better stop with that self pity crap," Al decided to interrupt, tone now grounded and deep as his feet fell to the floor. His sudden shift gained surprised glances from the others."We have to accept that each and everyone of us failed last night. None of this 'If only I stopped her here' bullshit," he looked away, hiding the shame printed across his lips. "We share in victories and in failures. So let's stop looking into our personal failures and focus on how we can succeed next time. At least, that's what I think Kaito would what us to do."

The others looked to one and other, full of internal questions as they let the words sink in; none could think of anything relevant to add. "Wait a second!" realisation soon struck Haku like a brick. "Wait? What do you say?"

"Um? I was mentioning how we should stop pitying ourse-

"No! Not you, or that!" she pointed to Piko who looked a little surprised. "What was that about Kaito's replacement?"

The small lad looked to Al with a raised brow, who responded with a shrug. He repeated the same steps with Ritsu who shared a more under played version before shifting back to the woman. "Um, yeah. Didn't you know? Someone else is taking over the case."

"What!?" the woman's voice raised to unbelievable levels. "When! How! Why!"

"Right. You weren't here when Kaito dropped the bombshell," Ritsu spoke up.

"Maybe if you weren't so busy-" the man sniffed in her direction which caused the white haired woman's face to clench up. "Drinking I presume? Then you could have actually arrived early and been in the loop," his voice transitioned back to a relaxed tone, feet lifted back onto the table.

The corner of the woman's lip sank with her lids, staring at the blatant irony in the man's disposition. "How the fuck was I suppose to predict that Kaito would announce that before work even started," a pout left her. "Anyway, that's not important," she pulled her attention away from the amused man and onto Ritsu. "Why is Kaito getting fired!?"

"Technically, he's not getting fired," seeing the air of confusion that still surrounded the woman told Ritsu that there would be more explaining required. "It's more like he's getting demoted to our ranks."

"That's strange? I mean I'm happy he's not getting out right fired, but why would they keep him on bored?"

"I'm not too sure on the tiny details myself, but from what he told us. Apparently, our chief was unhappy with our...Let's say, poor attempt to capture Clip."

"Unhappy seems to be putting it lightly with how Kaito described it." Piko said

"Well, that's the kindest word I could think of," the red head addressed him. "To continue. The chief is going to be replacing Kaito with a very high ranking officer. I'm not sure if you heard of her, but the person is a woman named, Megurine Luka."

"Yeah, I've heard the rumors about her," though her nod was withdrawn, her mind couldn't wrap around why such an officer of great importance would come here. "Isn't she that tough as nails cop that everyone down stairs is talking about?"

"'Tough as nails' more like psychopathic if the rumors are true!" Piko froze in spot once he realised his speech was louder than normal. Body stiff, he carefully scanned the room; eyes wide and chest pounding, acting as if she was already lurking about. "Have you heard the stories about her? I heard once she fired a warning shot at a woman's head just because she stole milk for her hungry baby? She's nuts," he said under his breath while he leaned in closer. "Someone like her shouldn't be leading a case, let alone this one."

"Now while I'm not one to get sucked in by idle gossip," sitting back, Ritsu showed no fear while preparing to state the facts at hand. "I do agree that she is clearly not fit to lead a delicate case like this. The brutality she exemplifies goes against our mission to bring Clip in with little injury. Doesn't make sense if you ask me."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm kind of excited to meet this Luka gal," feeling a uneasy vibe, Al looked up and noticed everyone staring at him; each sharing their own shade of disappointment and confusion. "Hey now! Don't get the wrong idea, it fucking sucks that Kaito is getting replaced and all, but I have to look at the positives," a satisfied expression befell him, believing his explanation would ease their judgement.

"You can see the positives in all this?" the white haired man spoke up. "What could possibly be the benefits of having a nut like her leading us?"

Pupils rested, the man lifted his hand and raised his index finger Piko's direction. "Have you seen the pics of her? She is smoking hot."

Collected groans left the woman and red head. The smaller man on the other hand, fiddled with his USB necklace, staying quiet. Paranoia swimming within his blood stream.

"Clearly someone is thinking with something other than his brain," Haku was quick to quip.

"I can't help being a guy. Besides, it's perfectly healthy for someone like myself to have the hots for a sexy lady like her."

She couldn't help but roll her eyes over such casual rebuttals. "I never said it wasn't natural. You just have an addiction."

The red head couldn't help snickering. "By the by, Al. If you're planning on hitting on this Luka woman, you should probably make sure she's a woman first. Don't want want a repeat of what happened when you first met me," he teased, causing his friend's face to heat up; almost falling out of his chair.

"S-shup up! I made sure to check beforehand! Trust me when I say she is one hundred percent woman," the man crossed his arms as he began to pout; slight tint still resonating throughout his cheeks. "Also, can you blame me? You looked hot in that dress!"

Letting the two's odd conversation become white noise. Haku turned away; expression stern as she focused on the door that contained a dreary detective packing up the life he had worked so hard to decorate.

 **She wondered just how he was taking this change in management**

 **/**

Beyond the rectangular frame; a decent sized room taken up mostly by an advantage sized desk, three chairs and a couple of small metal draws tucked away in the corner was currently shut off from the sea of workers outside. Sunlight from the open window illuminated the room; mismatched against the mutual dread that filled the inhabitants of this space.

Scrounging around his office, the freckled detective with tiny box in hand and a drill haired helper by his side carefully placed each personal item inside, slowly scrapping away anything that made this dull room feel like a second home. From a simple pencil; to the custom made folder with ice cream patterns had to go.

He stayed mostly quiet, replying not only the events of the last night in his mind, but also the very first time he faced against Shadow Clip. Over and over the scenes looped; heart pushing against his chest, berating himself for failing to consider every tactic the thief could pull. Shame filled to his very core as he questioned how he couldn't capture a teenage thief despite the years of experience behind him.

"What is that scary Luka woman like?" the frail voice that packed away a home made pencil holder pulled the man away from his self-loathing. "I've heard a lot of nasty rumors about her going around, but I don't know whether to believe them?" ruby eyes full of inquire pulled away from the contents of the filled box and onto the detective that stood over her. "Is it true? Is she as bad as they say?"

Sucked into Teto's dreary stare. The man bite his bottom lip, unsure whether to tell the truth and confirm her fears, or to lie and spare her the worry. "Luka...Well...She was...Um," the man's optics draw to the bin next to his desk as he fished for the perfect words. "I'll just say that she can be a bit cruel at times."

A gulp came from the woman's throat; widened eyes soon followed.

"Hey, it's alright. You shouldn't need to worry too much," his gloomy expression was quickly eradicated by a reassuring smile. "It's been years since I've last seen her and she may have settled down in that time," corner of his lip twitched faster than any human eye could spot. "She was very sweet when I first met her though, so maybe she's seen the error of her ways and reverted back to that," how he wished such an unfounded fib could be true.

"What about all those rumors?" she asked, scratching her head.

A shrug left his shoulders as he leaned back on the waist sized desk. "Treat them as they are, just word of mouth based on little evidence," even after all the reassurance, Kaito could still see the lingering doubt among her slumped dispersion. He couldn't blame her for such doubt. "Try to see this from a positive light. At least you could get a new boss who may be able to actually capture Shadow Clip?"

Teto rolled around a stress ball that was lying around, easily spotting the man's forced attempt to cheer her up. "I don't care," she stated in a sharper tone as she put down the squished foam. "You're the best leader around, Kaito," she bluntly stated as she looked up into the man's eyes. "No way some woman with a bad reputation can replace you."

"Tet's. I'm no-"

"Yes you are!" such an outburst surprised the officer. "You're nice to all of us! You help us out when we need it and motivate us when we're down. I mean look, you're trying to cheer me up at this very moment," she gestured to herself, before looking away. "No way can she fill your shoes."

Chest now at ease, Kaito couldn't help perking up; touched that anyone in his team could still say that after all the recent failures, even if he felt it was undeserved. "Thank you, Tet's," he pushed himself off the desk, bending slightly forward to give her a quick pat on the shoulder. "I know things seem a bit grim right now, but it's not all bad. I'm not going anywhere after all, just losing some privileges that came with being head of the case. Great part is I'll be able to investigate Shadow Clip out there with the rest of you."

Despite still feeling bitter, she still grinned after seeing Kaito's smile, even if it was filled with false optimism. "You do that anyway. I sometimes forget you even have an office," a very soft, almost unnoticeable chuckle followed.

"True. At least I'll have a desk out with the rest of you to call my own," it was a slow process, but Kaito seemed to have cheered up the woman, judging by her fixed posture and genuine giggle at least; even the red-head herself seemed to radiate a bit brighter. "Well!" clapping his hands, the man rested them on his hips and scanned the practicality empty room. "Looks like we stripped most this place clean of all my junk. Thank you for all the help, Tet's," he bowed. "Now how about you give yourself a snack break and let me handle the rest. You have more than earned it."

"Eregh!" Teto gasped. "But there's still stuff littered around your desk," she pointed to the two photo frames and other office supplies still resting on his ex-desk.

"Ba! It's barley a handful of stuff that needs to get packed. I can easily deal with them, you just go enjoy your lunch."

"Well...If you say so," with a shrug, Teto spun around and skipped over to the corner of the room where a lonely, slummed handbag rests. Bending down, she unzips the biggest pocket and pulls out one of the many baguettes hidden inside. "Say, Kaito?" she turned to the man as she held the loaf to her chest. "Do you think that Luka lady will let me eat bread inside?"

"I know she can seem mean, but I don't think she's a monster. I'm sure she'll be fine with it," his tick appeared once more.

Her smile beamed with enthusiasm. "That's a relief," she presented small bow before bobbing back up. "Later Kaito! Let me know if you need anymore help, kay?" head tilting to the side, she closed her eyes, still keeping hold of her sweet expression.

The man grinned in response to such high-spirited demeanor. "I'll be sure to let you know. Now go! Eat," he playfully demanded, waving his arm in an exaggerated motion like he was shooing away a fly. One last laugh was shared before she bounced out of the room.

Now left in solitude, the detective let a harsh puff of air leave his lips. Body slummed as he ran his hand through is combed hair, the upbeat energy that he artificially manufactured all vanished in an instant.

Lacking the force to stand on his feet, the man circled around the desk, brushing past the weighted box filled with old memories before crashing into his seat. With one arm lazed on the arm rest and the other dangling off to the side, the man looked over the now barren room once more. A lone frown peered; optics sunk and chest felt like it was being crushed in an ever shirking cage. All the hard work; dedication; hardships and sacrifice he was forced to make to reach this point in is career.

All vanished before his eyes.

In his bleakness, the man's brows raise once his gaze fell to the two frames that captured a couple of precious moments in his life. Pulling them close, his smile returned after looking into the still portals to the past.

One captured him in his youth, getting a noogie from his younger sister while his parents tried to break it up, failing to hide their own amusement. The other, taken not too long ago with him, his wife and the two blonde twins at the amusement park. Quick chuckle left him over seeing the camera capture the perfect moment when Rin bumped into him while chasing her brother, causing him to spill his ice cream all over himself with his wife looking on in shock.

Though his heart felt it was heavily beaten to a pulp, seeing these photos again recharged the man's fight, lifting his poor attitude once more. "I can't keep mopping like this," he thought. "I'm not in charge anymore, so what? I should be grateful that I'm still on the case. Despite having to work under her iron fist, I'm still going to give it my all! Not only for my team," he directed his determined smile to the photos.

 **But for my family as well**

 **/**

"Hm. So this is the place?" hopping off a well polished, black on red motorbike. A woman with pink hair that ran down her back stood outside the massive police structure that not only stood tall, but also stretched wide. She analysed the building from head to toe; dark shades reflected the imposing sunlight. "What a pathetic sight," she took one last drag from her smoke and flicked it to the ground, crushing the lit stick as she made her way inside.

She made her way deeper into the building; no concerns over the many frighted glances and quiet mumbles of the other officers she passed. She didn't care for the silent judgement that filled the surrounding air.

No.

All her mind focused on was climbing up the many flights of stairs that lead to the fifth floor, where not only her new task laid in wait, but also an old 'friend' she couldn't wait to see again.

Taking little time, the woman barraged her way into the room, making sure to gain everyone's attention. Like time had stopped, everyone dropped what they were doing to set their sights on the legendary woman by the entrance.

Regardless that she was smaller than most people in the room, that didn't stop everyone from taking notice of the intimidating vibe she gave off. People took most notice of her black leather jacket that showed off just how tone and muscular her arms were. The jacket itself was filled with many small holes that reviled a bit of the white singlet with faint hints of a faded red colour she wore underneath. She matched her top with a black leather skirt that helped fill the anxiety already littered in the room.

She took a quick scan of the area, more so to stare into the eyes of each individual, silently assessing their value. Clicking her mouth, the woman fixes up her fingerless, black biker gloves and finally steps further into the room. Posture straightened, the woman's hardened shell didn't crack as the people scrambled out of her way; some even backing into walls to avoid contact.

"That's her, isn't it?" body bent over, heart going crazy. Piko whispered as he, along with the other three, watch this woman make her way to Kaito's former office.

"Yep, that's definitely Megurine Luka," Ritsu was quick to respond. His own nerves shivering despite wanting to deny such fears. "Have to admit, she has a very intimidating presence."

"No kidding," was all Haku could ever dream to muster.

A low volume whistle left Al, causing the others to flinch before turning to him. "I don't know what is wrong with you guys, she is hot," ignoring the odd looks from his friends, he slides his feet off the desk and stands up. "Welp. Time for me to put the old Al charm into action," he began fixing up his collar and hair as he stepped over the chair.

"Wait? You're seriously going to hit on her? Right now?"

"Why not?" he addressed his red haired chum with a shrug, watching him as he walked backwards. "Can't let a beautiful lady like that slip away. Especially one of her tantalising nature."

Ritsu rested the tip of his index and middle finger on his forehead, shaking his head over such insensibility. "Whatever. It's your funeral," this caused the other two to chuckle.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence guys," he let out a huff only to snap his fingers. "Watch and learn my socially awkward chums. I'll have her swooning in my arms by the time I'm done," spinning in the right direction, the man leaves the group and ventures for Luka.

"Yeah. More like he'll be in our arms as we carry him to hospital."

Rolling his eyes after over hearing Haku's comment that caused the others to laugh, Al returned to the task at hand.

Putting on his most dazzling, confident smile, the man steps in front of the pink haired officer, forcing her to stop in her tracks as he looked down into her shades that reflected his figure. "Why, hello there," he rested his arm on his hip, taking note to keep his tone friendly, but also smooth.. "I think I'm going to have to take you in, cause that beauty of yours could be considered a very deadly weapon."

Examining him from head to toe, the woman shared a smile that would set ease to the most fear ridden child. "You're quite the charmer, aren't you?" she asked, voice elegant and posed.

Feeling that success was only inches away, the man turned to his friends and wiggled his brows before quickly turning his attention back to Luka. "Not the first time a lady has said that to me. Of course, I have a lot of great traits about me that woman find irresistible, maybe you could find out over dinner, perhaps?"

"Hm. You know what I think?" her voice became soft and sensual, causing the man to nod with an almost goofy smile. All his confidence and tact soon dissipated once the woman frowned and ripped off her shades. Stepping back, the man's core filled with nothing but fear as he stared into the green, beast like eyes that showed no mercy. "I think that if you're ever stupid enough to flirt with your commanding officer again, you'd better prepare to have your balls clenched, twisted and squeezed until there is nothing left," though her voice never reached high volumes, the sheer power behind each word and how she mimicked the gruesome act with her hand caused the man to wince and his stomach to drop. "Unless that's a sick fetish of yours, I suggest avoiding such a act. Do you understand me?"

Having trouble swallowing, the man locked his lips before presenting a weak nod. "Y-Y-Yeah."

"Good," she said with a satisfied grin. "Now. Are you going to move your fucking ass out of my way, or am I?"

Panicked, the man leaps away, giving Luka room to pass. She gives one last piercing glare as she walked by, sending shivers to run down his spine.

All eyes now drew to the man who seemed frozen in spot. It took a bit for his mind to process that the woman had left, blinking many times before slowly returning to his seat. "Don't any of you dare utter a single joke," he warned the three, noticing the concerned glances they shared.

"Wouldn't dream of it if I could," the well dressed man responded, tone shaken but sincere.

Done with what she considered the riff raff. Luka was now almost at the man's office, each step bringing her closer and closer. She hoped her little display would prevent others from interrupting her path.

It didn't.

Only a few feet from the door. Luka stopped dead in her tracks after seeing a red haired woman emerge from the office. Eyes widen and fists clenched once her pupils drifted to the piece of bread the much smaller officer took a bite out of.

"Oh!" Teto was a bit startled after almost walking into the woman, but calmed down and shared a welcoming smile, even if her stomach felt a tad sick at how imposing this towering woman seemed. "You're that Luka lady everyone was talking about, aren't you?" the lack of response didn't help calm her nerves. "Um, anyway. I'm Kasane Teto! It's nice to meet you," she bowed. "I'm looking forward to working for you."

Sneering in response to her sickly sweet smile, Luka's optics slid back to the baguette in hand. "Is that, bread, you're holding?" she pointed to the fluffed stick.

"Huh? Oh yeah. You want one?" she pointed to the bag around her shoulder, which Luka looked to with little interest. "I've got plenty, so I don't mind sharing."

"What do you think this place is? A fucking restaurant!" the woman lashed out, causing the smaller lady to step back, wrapping her arms around the bread as if it was a stuffed bear. "Despite the shitty job you all did, looking after the place!" she glanced over the people behind then focused back on Teto. "This is still a house of justice and should be treated with such respect, not to be dishonored with baked scraps."

"Aaaah- I'm sorry. It's just that Kaito le-Ah!"

Not even giving her the chance to talk, Luka grabs Teto by the collar, pulling her in close enough that she can feel the warm, panicked breaths collide with her tensed face. "Now listen here you little shit!" her barrage of powerful breaths caused the girl to blink while she was forced to stare into the woman's fiery eyes. "Let's get one thing straight! That ocean headed pussy is not in charge anymore. I am! Now-" she pulled the woman in closer until their foreheads touched, making absolute sure to drill this memory into her head. "If I see even a single speck of crumb laying about. I'll drag you by the drills of your stupid hair and smash your face into it like a disobedient bitch! You got all that!?"

Teto tried her hardest to respond, but all she could do was spout in coherent sobs while salty warm liquid ran down her cheeks.

"Answer me!"

"Enough!" brows easing up. The potent, familiar voice charged in between her and the fragile woman in hand. Head tilted up, she spotted the source of the angered demand. A man of blue hair stood by the door, only a few feet separating them. "You better let go of her right now, if you know what's good for you," his fists were clenched; posture straightened; forceful breaths leaving his lived mouth.

Seeing the man stand up to her so proud caused the woman's lips to raise; devious intentions hidden behind them. "Oh Kaito," she eased her grip on Teto. She glanced over to the girl who didn't wait to run off, thinking about how pathetic she was for crying. "Is that anyway to treat an old friend?" fabricated sincerity left her lips.

The man sneered. "The days of us being friends has long passed, Luka," he spit out, glaring into the steady eyes that stared back with equal intensity. "Regardless of the history we once shared, I'll not stand idly by and let you bully my team into submission."

"Ohh~ look at the little man trying to pretend he has a pair," she felt no distress as she looked up into the savage dark ocean that was his eyes. No matter how furious he seemed, she knew Kaito would never have the guts to lay a finger on her; a trait she found boring. "I don't know if you got the memo, but I'm the leader here now. Not you. Thus, you have no authority over how I treat my disciples," a sadistic grin peered. "Or, you, for a matter of fact."

"I don't care if you are our leader! I will not tolerate bullying. You do not have the legal right to treat us like dirt. I'm not afraid to complain to the higher ups and get you disbarred if I have to," a violent breath left Kaito, deathly serious about his threat.

Luka began to chuckle, making the man's brows narrow further. "Go a head and try that, princess. You may be surprised to know that as long as I don't outright torture any of these sorry excuse of officers, then I can treat them however I want. God knows you pussies need all the discipline you can get," delight rushed like adrenaline as she witnessed the man bare his teeth. "Helps to have friends in high places. Right buddy?" she whispered, a condescending smile painted across her lips.

Kaito's blood began to boil, finding it harder to hold back his shaken arm that tempted him to go for the attack. "Luka... You...I swear to the heavens, I'm going to-

"Going to what?" she interrupted. "Try to beat the living shit out of me? Please! By all means, go right a head," resting her hands by her hips, Luka pumped out her chest and left her stomach fully exposed. "Gives me the perfect reason to finally beat you to a bloody pulp. That, and I get to strip you of your badge for aggravated assault."

She watched with glee as the man's lips weaver; hands shaking violently; internally struggled to keep his temper in check, hoping he'll finally snap and go primal on her. All excitement was washed away once calmed breaths left him; fists now steady and open. "Why are you even here," he asked, an abnormal sense of calm in his voice.

Lips in a pout. The woman's body rested in response to the lack of fight ensuing. "Well that was anti-climatic. Seriously, Kaito? I knew you were a wimp, but this is just sad."

"Answer the question!" the woman rolled her eyes, too unconcerned to even look at him head on. "Your line of work deals with international crimes and much bigger cases. Why take on a small assignment like this one?"

"You want to know why I'm here?" as if a light has been switched, the woman's uninterested attitude turned grim. Passion sparked brighter, but seemed to hide another, weighted emotion hidden within the darkness in her optics. "I could bullshit and say I care about protecting the artifacts in this city, but that would be a lie. No, I could give two shits about a bunch of old crap...The real reason I'm taking this job is to show you up!" heavy breaths left her nose, as one would a tempered bull. "I'm going to easily do what you couldn't. Capture that sad excuse of a thief and prove to the world that you are nothing but a useless waste of space."

Kaito sucked on his cheeks, keeping his temper in check. "So your main purpose is to make me look like a fool. Why must you re-enter my life only to destroy it?"

"Hm. I'm surprised you don't remember?" throat tightening, tone sombre as she fiddled with a broken wrist watch around her wrist. "It's what started my hatred for you and everything you stand for."

Kaito's brows raised, eyes widened once he saw the hot pink clock that acted like a gate way to a dismal past. He bit his lower lip, heart felt twisted realising the woman still hasn't healed from that day. "Luka...I'm sorry about Iroha, bu-"

"What the hell are you still doing slacking off here!?" she began to lash out, surprising the man and pointing at the box still resting on his old desk. "Your crap is still in my office. Get it out of there now, or god help me, I will make you clean every inch of this place with your tongue!"

Sharing a piercing glare, the man decided it'd be best to say nothing. Reluctant, Kaito turned around and packed the rest of his things, taking a second to look over the photos to give him strength before placing them on top of the pile. Walking back out, he panicked after Luka knocked into him with her shoulder, causing him to almost drop his stuff. Combating her cocky grin with a nasty snarl, the man continued his long trek to his new desk; lips curled into a frown, feeling as if he was walking down death-row thanks to the stares of his distraught teammates weighing on his back.

Luka watched each agonising step with joy, the loud stomp of his box slamming on his much smaller desk rang out through the quiet room, acting as sweet music to her ears. Finished with him, the woman stood tall and scanned the room, focusing on each unnerved individual staring her way. "Listen up maggots!" she screamed to the crowed. "From here on out, you'll be listening me! Follow my orders and not only will you have a painless time, but you can guarantee that under my leadership-

 **Shadow Clip will fall!**

 **/**

 ** _Destination: Happy Flight Disco Airlines_**

 ** _Time: 7:30PM_**

 ** _/_**

"What! That's totally unfair!"

In a massive tiled building, many people of different races and ethnicities wondered about; some taking their time as they explored the place, few even taking a nice nap on the benches; most rushed about, feeling anxious about waiting for their flight.

Sat by the window that displayed many machines capable of flight taking off into the dark sky. A young teen with short, shag, teal hair talked on her cellphone; free hand held a tight grip on one of the many bags that sat around her feet. "Arg! That woman sounds like a horrid bitch! If I was you, I would take my badge and shove it right down her throat!" in her outburst, the teen failed to notice a woman with a baby and muscular biker sitting across from her, looking at each other with worry. They quickly moved to different seats.

"Ha ha! Oh trust me. I wish I could do that, but that is not only wrong, but I could have injured her, or worse. Plus, I would have also lost my job."

"I know," she pouted. "I can't help getting pissed off when someone is tormenting you. That's my job as a sister!"

"Thanks, sis."

"Anytime bro," she said with a grin. "Btw: You better clear up your fridge, cause I've got a lot of tasty treats to stuff in there," she lifted up one of the many bags, shaking around the contents.

A sigh left the man once she heard the rippling sound of the bag on his end. "Don't tell you brought a boat load of leeks again?"

"Humf! Heck yeah I did! Don't know why you are so anti-leek when it provides so much awesome vitamin and other healthy shit," puffs of strong air pushed through the girl's nose. "It's also really freaking delicious. Of course a scrub like you wouldn't be able to understand the glory that is the mighty leek," she pumped up her chest in self calmed victory, imagining the defeated look in her brother's eyes. Her face was quick to light up once she saw a fancy dressed lady with a tiny puppy in her purse. Audible gasp escaped over the pup.

"What was that!? You okay sis?" the man asked, tone shaken.

"Huh? Oh no, I'm cool bro. Just saw the cutest puppy in the world sleeping in a woman's purse," frantic the find the canine once more, she let out a pout, losing the lady in the sea of people. "Damn! Should of snapped a picture of it when I had the chance."

"That sucks. Would have loved to see the little tike myself."

"Yeah! And I could have got so much hits on the webz! Fucking sucks."

A sinker could be heard on the other end. "Anyway, back to what I actually wanted to ring you about. I just want to conform that you'll be arriving at the airport at 7:30 in the morning?"

She nodded. "Yep. If all goes well, then I should be there around then. Hopefully no stupid ass delays happen."

"Don't jinx it, Meeks."

"I can jinx as much as I want, Kaito! Can't keep this independent cutie down," the teal haired girl sat up and pointed to the heavens, gaining some strange looks.

"Says the one who's going to be crashing at my place for god-knows how long," she scowled after hearing the chuckle that followed. "Seriously, sis. It'll be great to have you back in the country again. It sucked knowing how far away my little sis was."

"You just hated all the traveling you had to do to visit me," she teased, wiggling her nose. "But yeah, it'll be great to be back in Japan again with my family," a soft smile peered on her lips.

"Can't wait..." a loud, furious voice could be heard in the background, surprising the girl. "Arg! Sorry, sis, I have to hang up now. Luka is currently screaming down my neck to stop slacking."

"I understand, bro. Give her a good sock in the nose for me!" she pumped her fist.

"Ha ha. Yeah. I think that'd be a terrible idea," more screams interrupted them. "Errg Alright! I'm hanging up! Sorry, I've gotta go now. I'll see you tomorrow. Love you."

"Love you to, bro. See ya!" she quickly added before the ending beep chimed in.

Looking to the screen, the girl pouted once she saw how little power the poor device had left. She tucked her phone away in her pocket, not being able to play the game she wanted. She pulled a green and white snack out from her bag and started chowing down.

Foot shaking as she made it halfway through her treat, the girl's aqua eyes scanned the room, trying to find anything interesting to take her mind off the boredom.

Attention soon fell on one of the many televisions hanging from the ceiling. No sound escaped from the tiny widescreen, yet the blurred image of a figure dressed in all black with long dark hair was enough to cause her teeth to clench and her grip to tighten on the food. "Shadow Clip," she thought to herself. "You have done nothing but cause my brother pain ever since you showed your ugly face. I swear, if I ever find out who you are-

 **I'll make you pay**

 ** _To be continued_**


	6. Shion Miku

_**Destination: 22 Vocal way**_

 _ **Time: 9:00AM**_

 **/**

A week had passed since the heist of the tourmaline Tiara. Many events transpired in that time, such as Kaito's leadership being striped away with the notorious Ms Megurine Luka taking his place; a woman rumored to go to any length to catch a criminal.

This also marks a week since schools all over Japan extended holiday times in hopes of lowering the pressures young teens face in their daily lives. At the cost of increased assignments to balance the loss of school hours.

A certain blonde thief has taken full advantage of this generous amount of time, laying spread out on her bed, making up for the hours she lost last night watching television.

"Rin. Sweetheart. Come on, it's time to rise and shine."

"Err," the sound of a pleasant, nurturing voice cradled the young teen awake. Unfortunately, such a welcoming tone did little to up the girl's mood. Hair in a jumbled mess as she sat up; eyes squinted, littered by crust; posture in a slump, trying to keep balance and not crash face first onto her mattress.

"Morning sweetheart," the blurred figure spoke once more, fixing up the girl's strap to re-cover her exposed chest. "I'm guessing the green tea didn't work," her voice softened.

"Nope, but what else is new, " voice groggy, the girl scrambled for her glasses. A low grunt left once she saw the time. "It's only nine? Why did you wake me so early?"

"I'm sorry, sweetie," the woman ruffled through the girl's hair, unfazed over the soft growl that left the blonde. "I would have let you sleep in a bit longer, but we have a very important person coming over today, don't you remember?"

Dreary eyes wondered to the side as she tried to recall what the heck Meiko was on about. A dull 'oh' left her once the memory returned. "Right. Kaito's sister arrives today, doesn't she?" an irritated sigh followed. "Great."

A weak smile peered on the corner of her lip, picking up on the teen's apathetic attitude. "Cheer up, sweetie. I know this is a really big change, but Miku is a really sweet girl and I'm sure you two will become besties once you meet her."

"That's what Kaito practically told me," she said in a huff. "Still doesn't change that a stranger will be leaving under the same roof as me."

Rin felt a soft, warm palm rest on her shoulder. "Just give her a chance, Rin. That's all I'm asking," bent to her level, the blonde stared into the delicate, scarlet optics that stared into her own.

Reluctantly, the young teen agreed, unable to say no to the woman's desperate look, even in the foulest of moods.

"That's the spirit, sweetheart," she softly pats the girl's shoulder, sharing a bright smile before pulling her arm away. Optics quickly narrowed once she sniffed the air. "Um. I don't mean to sound, well mean, but I feel you are overdue for a shower. Don't want our new tenant's first impression to be of your body odour now do you?"

"What?" Rin's torso sprang up, mouth a gape. "I don't need a shower. I'm perfectly fine...Hm," it only took a whiff of her own pungent armpit to cause the girl's face to crunch together, needing to pull away from her own poor-hygiene. "Yeah, I take it back. I absolutely reek."

A giggle left the woman. "I'll leave so you can get ready," watching her stand back up, Rin noticed that Meiko was, for once, much more covered up than usual. "I'll be sure to have breakfast ready for when you finish."

The teen shared a quick thanks before the woman left her to her own devices. Delaying her shower, she laid in a crooked angle against the smooth wall, mind jumping to that stranger; stomach turning with visions of how she would look and act running in her mind. All of them unpleasant. "Erg! Why couldn't that Miku chick just stay with Kaito's parents? Sure, their retired, but they have the time! Already crowded enough here as it is!" a rush of air ran out her mouth. "So much for a relaxing vacation."

Everything now off with only a towel wrapped around her slim figure, Rin marched down the hall; fluff of the light brown carpet that ran through her toes and along her feet did little to calm the teen.

Focus still stuck on that stranger.

"Oh Christ, Rin! Must you always wear your towel to the bathroom?" the sounds of a familiar, fiery tempered boy broke the girl out of her current mindset. She turned to face her brother who laid in bed with his knees in the air. He also seemed to have a book in his hands. Without her glasses it was just a blur, but she assumed the story had to be about the messed up circus he couldn't stop raving about. "Can't you just undress in the bathroom like normal people and spare me such an unpleasant sight?" he asked, closing his book and lowering the wireless headphones, faint sounds of rock music reaching her eardrums.

"Hm. I thought you'd like the idea of a girl walking around in a towel?" she crossed her arms, lips sagged and brows furrowed.

The boy's eyes rolled. "Not when it's my own sister. You sick freak."

"Well you'll just have to deal," she now stood proper, arm rested at her hip. "I hate getting an ear full for leaving my dirty clothes in the bathroom; way more beneficial for me to pro-actively place them in my basket before leaving my room."

"You could just, oh I don't know? Actually remember to pick up your clothes."

She waved her hand, as if shooing him away. "You have your way and I have mine. Besides, if you didn't want to see me in a towel then you can easily close your door. Simple as that."

Untranslatable angered mumbles came from him. " I shouldn't freaking have too," he grumbled under his voice, sitting back and opening up his book back up.

"By the way," Rin spoke up, tone less sharp and more withdrawn as she squinted her eyes in attempts to see the title of the book. "Is that the creepy circus story you're reading?"

The boy responded with a nod, eyes glued to the words on the page. "That's the one. This is actually the forth book in the series. Right now the character, Anna, is in hell after committing suicide and it seems like she's in the process of becoming the grim reaper. Some online fans say the writer has jumped the shark with this twist, but clearly it's amazing and they just don't know what their talking about-" speech increased in speed, tone bouncy while he rambled on about each intricate part of the book, from the subtle use of symbolism before spouting out his own theories.

Rin could only watch with furrowed brows and a bland expression; arms crossed as her optics rolled slowly, forced to listen to every single word he eagerly spat out. "From a scary circus, to the depths of hell? That's quite a big leap if you ask me," she pondered, begging he'd stop soon.

"-The way the author can capture the feeling of being in hell just blows my mind and proves just how much of a master piece this series is," taking a breath, the boy reads the last line of the page before moving on. "I really do recommend giving this a read, Rin. I'll even let you borrow my copies when I'm done if you want?" he looked over to his sister, quickly turning away with a groan to look at the cop hat hanging from a hat rack in his room, forgetting she was just in a towel.

A chuckle escaped her. "Thanks, but no thanks," she waved. "Sounds too depressing for my tastes."

"...Right," eyes furrowed, lips in a frown as Len returned to his book. "I forgot, you prefer mindless action with black and white pictures that require very little mental thought," tone bitter as he flipped another page.

"Yes, clearly that is the reason!" rubbing her forehead, the blonde decided this was not a good time to argue.. "Say Len. You said you're reading the forth book now, right?"

"Yeah...What of it?"

"Nothing really," she shrugged, causing the towel to untangle slightly. A relived breath escaping once she caught it in time. "Just noticed that you were up to the second book last week and now your up to the forth one already?"

"Well..." the boy paused, expression unchanging, only a puff bursting out of his nostrils. "I've got a lot of time on my hands right now. What with being forced to have a time limit to investigate Shadow Clip. A very strict one might I add."

"Oh...Yeah," after hearing that name, Rin couldn't stop herself from looking to the floor, gripping the rim of her towel. "Hey! At least you now have the chance to catch up on all those book's you've complained about putting off!" she forced a smile and chipper tone, hoping he'd cheer up.

"You really think these ink splayed pieces of written art will stop that bitch?" the boy sat up; voice raucous as it suddenly grew in volume. He faced his sister, ignoring her lack of outfit as he waved his now closed book around like it meant nothing. "Sure. I love these books, but while I'm stuck here learning about worlds that don't even exist, she's out their in the real world planing her next robbery and making Kaito's life a living hell!" he pointed out his window.

"Why are you so concerned about capturing her anyway?" Rin inquired, tone soft and eyes furrowed. "Isn't that his responsibility to be burdened with, not yours?"

"Don't you get it!? I'm doing all this because he doesn't believe in me!" after his uproar, Len's expression softened after seeing his sister flinch and step back a bit. "S-sorry," calming his breath, the boy looked to the bottom corner as he sat back in his original possession. "It's just...I want to be a cop like Kaito and help make this world a better place, but all he does is push me away saying I'm too young to be a cop," his lids sunk, ocean optics on his bed.

Standing proper now, the girl bit her lower lip as she gripped the hem of her towel once more. "He's just trying to protect you, that's all," she waited for her brother's response, but all she got was a soft 'hm' before he returned to his book. A drained sigh left her. "You know, maybe this time limit is a blessing in disguise. Who knows, you might get over her completely and find something else worth your time."

"I doubt it," his voice was monotone as he lazily turned one more page. "Could you leave already. Sick of seeing you in nothing but a towel."

Mouth a gape, Rin was ready to say anything that might cheer him up. She decided it'd be best to shut it back up. Following his wish, she gripped the top of her towel, head to the floor in ponder as she dragged her feet to the bathroom. "Why did you have to be so obsessed with her, Len?" teeth clamped up, forming her hands into tight balls. "Shadow Clip has already hurt enough people-

 **I never wanted it to hurt you as well**

 **/**

At an airport deep within the city. A young teen sits amongst the hive of people marching about like ants trying to find their next meal. Ignoring all the busy bodies, the teal haired girl is too devoted to the portable, two screened video game system.

"Come on! I almost got it. I can beat this dumb boss on the hardest difficulty," back arched forward; eyes glued to the screen; arms and shoulders tense as she put all of her strength into the giant beast that stood before them.

The sounds of people chatting among themselves; a screeching speaker voice; even the roar of the planes could do nothing to pull away from her intense focus. "...NO!" she cried out, gesturing the screen, paying no mind to the odd looks she had received.

Brows furrowed, pouting as she fell back in her seat and watched the poor angel die once again, whimpering 'I'm finished' before disappearing. "Fuck this damn level!"

About to start a forth run, the girl glanced to a line of cars parked out the front of the building under the clear sky. Having to cover the glare of the sun with her palm, her lips sky rocketed once she saw a familiar, beat up, sickly lime green car arrive. She didn't even need to see the blue haired driver to recognise the vehicle.

Packing away her console, the teen picked up her bags with one hand, fighting to keep them from falling while she used the other to drag a hefty, wheeled suit case behind. The heat was quick to bombard her as she left the building, it did nothing to slow her down while she ran to the car that had just finished parking. "Hey bro!" she yelled out, stopping to let go of the suitcase to wave.

"Hello sis," the man greeted with a grin as he exited the car. Closing the door behind, the two approach each-other and share a hug. "How's my little sis been? Excited to be back home, or has the allure of America got to you?" a chuckle left the taller man as he parted from the teen.

"Of course I'm happy to be back, you big oaf!" she punched the man's arm, though meant to be playful, it would still leave him with a bruise in the morning. "Living in America was great and all, but nothing beats the land of the rising sun," she bounced on her toes as she wrapped her hands around the bags. "It's also where 99% of my family lives, so that straight away trumps not only the Americas, but also every other contrary as well."

A subtle grin formed along the freckled man's cheeks. "Really great to see you again, sis," his statement caused the girl to show a wide grin. "So is that all you have to take home with us?"

Miku looked to the bags in hand then to the suitcase behind. "This is all I have on my persons. I have more stuff coming by mail, but it's not too much. Just some western figures that I was scared would break if I brought them with me."

"Hey, it's alright. We have plenty of space in the house," he stuck out his hands, eyes shifted to the bags she held. Straight away, the teen picked up his signal and handed him a couple of the bags. "I'm actually surprised how little you have on you. Please don't tell me you neglected yourself during your stay?" he asked, tone thick with concern as he carried the bags over to his car.

"Bah! You worry way too much about me," she tilted her head while she followed Kaito. "Our cousins did a wonderful job at providing food and all the living stuff for me. So all I had to worry about was paying for my studies and cool shit," optics sunk once she got a proper look at the vehicle. "Besides, I don't think that hunk of junk you still drive could handle it. I doubt it can even handle this tiny amount of stuff."

Parked by the pavement, the car stood out among the crowd of high-end; glossy beasts of engineering that came and went. Kaito's car was a small compact, big enough to only seat four people; five if three squeezed together. The lime green coating was faded with paint chipped away, reviling the dull metal underneath, like scares on a withered body. The body itself was bare, lacking any bumps and curves that gave the modern cars flare and edge.

"What are you talking about?" the man placed a hand in his coat pocket, gazing to his vehicle with a proud smile. "Old-Trusty can easily handle your bags."

"'Old' is right," the teen quipped with sunken lids, gaining a peeved glance from the man. "Doesn't even have a gps system, or a simple usb slot to play my tunes. When are you finally going to get with the times and buy a new ride?"

"Never, if I can," he opened up the trunk and began placing the bags on the spotless carpet. "I don't need to have all that new, high end technology like mp3's in my car. If it can drive, hold enough people and has a decent radio then that's all that's needed," he grabbed the suit case Miku handed to him and placed it with the others before closing up the trunk.

"Hm. Spoken like a true old fart,"

"Twenty five is not that old you know," is the argument he presented as he steps foot into the driver's seat.

"Well, I'm only sixteen, so that's pretty freaking accent to me," she teased, hopping in the driver's seat, back pounding into the seat as she fought to find a comfy position.

A chuckle left as he watched her twist all about in her seat. Taking in the amusing sight, he started up the car and rested his hands on the wheel. "Meiko will be so happy to see you again," he stated, backing his car and drove away from the airport. Not before reminding the girl to fasten her seatbelt.

"Oh~ I can't wait myself!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she leaned forward and tilted her head the man's way. "Sucks she couldn't visit the states, stupid money getting in the way. How is her leg doing by the way?" tone softened once she asked, expression plain. "Has it healed a little?"

A melancholy smile peered on the man's lips. "Thankfully, the doctor's were wrong and she can still walk on it," his fingers tapped along the steering wheel, smile now gone. "Sadly, it hasn't got any better either. She still can't run on it and lifting heavy objects is certainly out of the question," a powerful breath left his nose as his mind fought with himself about whether to let Miku know how it can mentally affect his wife at times. He decided it'd be best not to share that info in respect to her privacy.

"That sucks, bro," nothing else to add, she let her head fall, optics on the gray seat belt wrapped around her body.

"Hey. You don't need to worry too much about Meiko," Kaito's outlook sparked up. "Those Kagamine twins we've taken in have been keeping her spirits up, as well as busy," he followed with a chuckle.

"Ah! Those fabled Kagamines," Miku shot straight up in her seat, sharing an energetic smile her brother's way. "Been so eager to meet those two after everything you told me about them. I forgot, which one is the boy and which the girl? I remember that their names are Len and Rin, but I kinda forgot which is what gender and don't want to accidentally confuse them when we meet," head shrunk into her shoulder while she scratched the back of her head.

"That's alright. They are twins after all," such a tease caused the girl to giggle. "The boy is named, Len and the girl is Rin. Oh, and don't feel discouraged if Rin doesn't open up to you straight away. It's nothing against you, she's just not too fond of strangers in general."

"I understand," the teen said with a nod. "Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be able to charm the pants of her!" she pumped her fist.

Laughter escaped the man, causing the girl to look his way with a raised brow. "Could you word that any worse?"

Crossing her arms, the girl let out a huff as she pouted. "What I said was completely innocent. It's not my fault you have a dirty mind. All that time hanging around that Al person really rotted your brain."

"Whatever you say," the freckled man gasped for air. "Anyway. I'm positive all three of you will get along in no time."

A powerful nod left the girl. "Yep-

 **I have no doubts about that**

 **/**

Now dressed in a clean singlet and a pair of shorts, hand brushing through her soaked hair as she made her way to the den. With each step, she felt the texture of the soft carpet run along the soles of her bare feet; not helping to combat the rigorous heat.

Entering the spacious room, she noticed a familiar brunette leaning forward on the couch, hands cupped as she seemed to get into whatever was playing on the T.V. The blonde watched from behind, showing a disinterested frown once she saw that it seemed to be some sort of slow-paced documentary. Expression quickly turned sour; stomach turning once the screen showed a poor rat like thing being slowly devoured by a snake in gory detail. "How can you watch stuff like this?"

"Hey, sweetie," Meiko cranked her neck to greet the girl with a smile then instantly switched back to her show. "Easy," she shrugged. "It's very interesting to observe how different and brutal nature can be with little human interference. I mean look at that!" the woman pointed to the screen. "See how that Python has to squeeze the life of that poor creature to get a meal. Makes one really think about life and appreciate the things we have, wouldn't you say?" she turned to the blonde, sharing a beaming grin.

Rin looked as if she was about to vomit. "Yeah...Personally, I'll just stick with my fictional violence and archaeological programs thank you very much,"

"Fair enough," with a chuckle, the woman set the program to record then opened up the channel listings. "Your breakfast is waiting for you in the kitchen," she bobbed her head in the direction of the food. "Kaito should be back with Miku soon, would you like to wait here with me while I change the channel to something we both like?"

It took a second for the sight impaired blonde to find an answer, optics trailed off as her mind sorted through the jumbled list of reason's behind each of the two answers. "Sure, why not," she decided to take the offer, thinking it'd be much less awkward to also have Meiko around when meeting the new room-mate.

Heading for the kitchen, the girl failed to notice the slight bewilderment on the woman's face, one that slowly transitioned into a joy-filled grin.

With her meal consisting of sausages; fried eggs; a bowl of fried rice and a glass of orange juice, Rin placed her breakfast on the see-through glass table in front of the couch. She knelled on the floor beside the woman's legs and started to dig in.

Not a word left the other's mouth, too focused on a new anime about a Gundam bot balancing out saving the world and the daily challenges of high-school life. Despite finding the concept ridiculous, the blonde's attention stayed glued to the screen. Meiko on the other hand, bounced between the fighting bot in school uniform and the window, looking toward the empty drive way, waiting for a certain lime green car to arrive.

"Say, Meiko?" the blonde decided to speak up during the commercials. "What is Kaito's sister like exactly? Asked about her a few times, but I want to know your perspective."

"Still nervous about meeting her I presume?" she answered with a sly smile.

A half-hearted shrug left the girl. "I can't help it," she added, taking a bite from her food. "I really know nothing about that chick. Just that she's a complete stranger."

Giggling, the brunette patted the girl's mane, her way of letting the blonde know that she understood. Still didn't stop the girl from groaning. "Well, it's been a very long time since I've actually talked face to face with her, but from the conversations we have over the phone, she hasn't seemed to change too much."

"Smo th-" remembering her manners, Rin swallowed back her food. "So what is this girl actually like? Is she the quit; reserved type? Or is she calm and laid back like Kaito?"

"Honey. That's implying he is always calm and reserved," she said in an exaggerated, silly tone.

"Right," Rin snickered. "Can't forget how much of a grump he can get without his morning coffee."

Meiko spliced in her own chuckle. "To answer your question. Miku, at least from what I can remember, is a very energetic girl; always needs to be on the move and loves exploring whenever she can, which means she could be a little rascal at times. Not sure if she ever grew out of that, but I can confirm that she definitely still possesses the energy of a champ."

"Sounds like someone who's a real hassle to keep up with," is what she thought, eyes furrowed with sunken lips. The woman picked up on her displeased state, but decided to let it be. "So, Kaito also said that she's been staying with family in America to study music or something. Why did she travel so far instead of staying here?"

"She was offered to study abroad by one of the biggest schools in the states after seeing how stunning her grades in musical studies were," a smirk peered as she looked back to the window. "To say it was a quite shocker when she revived that email would be a gross understatement."

"Wow. That's quite amazing," the girl's head bobbed. Her gaze returned to the television once the commercials were over, yet her mind still raced with questions to completely pay attention to the show. "If you missed her so much, why did you never leave to visit her in the states?"

Meiko's lips sunk for an instant before rising up once more. "I would have, but you know," she tapped her left leg. "Don't want to risk adding more damage to this then necessary."

"Oh," the blonde bit her lips, looking away for a second to mentally slap herself.

"Besides," the woman continued. "Even if my leg was fine. Our budget couldn't cover the expenses for the rest of us; so Kaito was the only one who could afford to travel over to visit sometimes."

"Yeah, I remember that. He only visited for about a week before coming back, right?" she looked over to the woman; who responded to her inquiry with a nod. "How long has she been living there anyway?"

"She was only thirteen when she left, so that'd make it three years now," the woman blurted out.

"Oh, that long, huh?" picking up on the time-frame, the blonde's chest felt tight as her head hung low; lips in a frown as they rubbed together, plodding around the food on the plate. "So she left before me and Len met you guys."

Meiko's head snapped to the blonde, realising just what came from her mouth. Feeling a bump in her own throat, the woman forced a smile and reached out to pat the girl's shoulder and tell her that everything would be alright. Half-way, she paused then slowly pulled back. "Yeah... That's right," forged smile now broken, the woman's eyes drifted to the floor, biting her tongue over such a callous speech.

"Don't do this to yourself, Rin," closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, the blonde blocked the noise in the room. The potent smell of her breakfast rushing into her nose became more noticeable. "You've cried over them enough," following up with one more breath, the girl reopens her lids; lips still neutral while she turned back to Meiko. "...Does she like video games?" the blonde inquired, sporting her best smile.

Even if it didn't beam as bright, the corner of the woman's lips rouse as she looked to the teen using her fork to fiddle around her food. "Like crazy!" she knew the girl's pleasant outlook was artificial, but she kept her tone high and full of energy, thinking it'd be best to not bring up the troubles of the past. At least, not right now. "In fact. I believe she may actually be a bigger gamer than you," mischief now littered the brunette's perky lips. Though her mind wondered whether 'gamer' was the right lingo or not.

Swallowing back her current bite, the blonde turned a raised brow to Meiko. "Oh really now?" the corner of her lip raised, filled to the brim with confidence. "I highly doubt she can match my gaming ability."

"I don't know," the woman wrapped her arms behind, swaying her upper-body from side to side. "She's pretty good at it. She told me she's even earned the nickname 'Speedrun Diva' online...Whatever that means?"

Suddenly, the pit in Rin's stomach felt woozy. She's heard of high level speed runners before, but never had she thought she'd get a chance to meet one. No matter how much she boosted, Rin knew she could never muster enough skill and patience to ever be classed as a speed-runner. Her brows soon furrowed with determination. "That doesn't scare me! I'll show that girl who the better gamer is and clam that title for myself," with that, she now classed this girl as her gaming rival.

Seeing the girl's eyes light up like fire caused the woman to smile, her plan on easing the blonde's tension being a rounding success. "I'm sure you'll give it your all, just be sure not to take it overboard."

Over the next few minutes; the two continued to chat about the teal haired girl, which soon transitioned into focused silence, turning their attention back to the show. Meiko rolling her eyes over the Gundam fumbling to confess his love to the girl Gundam in all pink including her bow. Rin on the other hand, leaned forward, vigilant to the screen hoping they would get together.

Like an answer to her prayers, the tall brunette turned to the window after hearing the familiar sound of an older car bumping up into the driveway. Pushing herself off the couch, she strolled closer to the window, easily recognising that ancient lime green vehicle clashing with the smooth driveway and the two people inside.

"Is that them?" the girl in glasses asked.

"Yep," Meiko showed a quick nod. "Sweetie, could you do me a favor and go fetch your brother, please? I think Miku would feel more welcomed if we're all here to greet her."

"Do I have to?" the blonde wined with sunk shoulders.

"Come on, Rin. All you have to do is say I sent you. That shouldn't be too much of a hassle, right?"

"Ergh! Fine," eyes rolled, the teen lifts to her feet, stumbling a little while she fought the pin and needles that dulled her right leg, leaving her barren plate behind. "You're lucky I like you," she quipped, pointing up to the woman before climbing up the stairs.

"Thank you, sweetie," hands on her lap, the brunette shared a smile then continued to wait by the front door; chest rapid as she couldn't stand waiting longer for the two to walk in. Expression perked once she heard a click from the door.

"'Bacon wrapped hot dogs?'" the blue haired man said to the smaller teen as they entered, both caring bags under their arms. "That's an actual thing in America now?"

"Heck yeaz they are!" the girl answered at the top of her lungs, taking a few steps inside before feeling a light tap on her shoulder. A goofy smile painted across her lips as she looked over to the shoes resting on a floor mat by the door that the man pointed to. "They actually taste pretty amazing, much to my surprise," she admitted, leaving her shoes on the mat.

"Hm. Sounds like a heart attack on a bun to me," the man tried hard to keep a frown while his sister stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry his way.

"Miku!"

The sound of a familiar, silvery voice caught her attention. "Hi Meiko!" she raised her hand high in the air and waved to the woman. "It's so good to se-AH!" before even getting close to finishing her sentence, Miku struggled to breath, feeling like she was being crushed to death by a bear.

"Ooooo~ it's been too long since I've seen you, little Meeks," the source of the small girl's crushing pain came from the over excited woman, arms wrapped around her as she squeezed the life out of the slimmer girl.

"Me-Meiko-Yooouuuur-" she struggled to push the words out, ribs feeling like they could snap at any moment.

"My goodness! You've grown so much since I last saw you. I can barely recognise the bubbly little girl who left for the big apple all those years ago," somehow, the woman's crushing affection seemed to get tighter. "I remember when you could barley reach my knees. Time passes way too quick."

"Argh!...I-miss-ed you too- but Meiko, please,"

"Huh?" looking down at the girl, Meiko's eyes grew with pulled lips after seeing her struggle for air. "Oh my god!" quickly, she lets her go. "I'm so sorry, Miku! I don't know what came over me," she bowed as far as her spine could go

Gripping to her knees, the teen takes one massive breath before braking into tiny ones that came out in rapid secession. Now composed, she shot an annoyed glare to the snickering man who walked by. "It's okay, Meiko," the girl bounced back quick, now standing up completely straight like nothing happened. "I missed you too," she wrapped her arms around the woman, this time receiving a much softer one in return. "Man. I can definitely confirm you have not lost your strength throughout the years."

"Yep," the two pull back, giving the woman the room to flex her muscles. "Not going to let a tiny thing like a leg injury keep me from working out."

"Right on!" Miku pumped her fist in the air. "Unlike like Mr. skeleton over where," she lazily pointed her thumb over to Kaito, who was placing the bags on the floor. "What's your excuse for being so lanky, bro?"

"Hey! Now that's not very nice," he strolls over to his sister and pats her head, intentionally messing up her hair. She didn't bother to fix it. "You both know I'm quite a toughy," he stood tall with his arms at his sides, gaining rolled eyes from the ladies.

"I have to agree with Meeks, Honey," Meiko decided to add with a smile. "You may have the brains, but you clearly lack in the brawn department," she sated with sunk lids, forcing a dull tone for effect.

Miku's cheeks puffed, holding back a laugh that begged to pop out.

"Oh! So you're taking her side, huh?" with a deviant smile, the man wrapped his arm around his wife's waist, causing her to laugh as he pulled her to him. "True, I may not have much physical strength, but that's not going to stop me from coming in with arms swinging to save you."

"Oh, I know that baby," her tone was soft as she wrapped her arms around his neck; rubbing her thumb along his smooth skin. "Though I'd more than likely need to save you, since you can't even fight your way out of a soup can,"

An amused puff of air left the man, shaking his head before gazing into the scarlet eyes that never fails to draw him into her beauty. "Someone one is a little sassy today?" they drew closer, bridging the distance of their soft bodies as their lips edged closer and closer. "That why I didn't get a big hug when I walked in?" he asked, tone soft and inviting.

"Aw. Does my big soft teddy bear feel left out?"

"...A little," cheeks tinted another colour as he looked away.

"Well then," she stocked his face, pushing his gaze back to her sparkling eyes. "Shall we fix that?"

Keeping their sights on each-other, they revised in the others' beauty for as long as they can last. Waiting no longer, the two close their eyes and let the soft embrace of their lips take over. The world around seemed to not matter in the slightest as they were lost in each other's sweet flavourer.

Gagging, Miku's face crunched and looked away, covering her eyes with her hands. Their mummers only made her stomach feel more quizzy. "Blurg. Good to see you two are still madly in love as ever, but could you at least consider the third party in the room before you two go all lovely dovy on each-other. Especially you, bro."

Eyes shooting open, the couple look to one another before pulling apart, as if they didn't realise what they were doing. They soon broke into a mess of giggles seeing the girl so flustered. "Sorry, sis. Can't help that my wife is so beautiful," he said in a sickly sweet voice as he peeked Meiko's nose, sending her in a giggling fit.

"Argh!" Miku was forced to turn away again. "Why must you be such an ass, bro?" such a reaction only caused Kaito's grin to grow wider.

Settling down from her amused state, the woman let out a breath as she now put on a straight face."Could I ask you a favour, Meeks?"

"What up?"

"Could you please ease up on the harsh language a bit. I'm trying to teach the twins to be mindful of their potty mouths," she pointed to the upper floor.

She snickered, not hearing the word potty mouth used in ages. "Kay, but I can't promise not to let out a profanity from time to time," a nod left the older woman. "By the by, speaking of those twins. When do I finally get to meet the duo?" bouncing on her heels, Miku spins her body around, scavenging every corner of the room.

"Say," the blue haired detective joined the girl's hunt. "Where are those two anyway, shouldn't they have been here to great Miku?"

"I sent Rin upstairs to fetch her brother," a frown appeared; brows also sunk as she gazed up to the top of the stairs. "Though they are taking a while,"

"Would you stop struggling already and actually use your fucking legs!"

"No! Let me go! I'm almost done with my book!"

"You can read your dumb book later! Right now we need to great Kaito's sister!"

"How dare you call my book dumb! It's more of a masterpiece then any of your dumb mangas!"

The blonde twins finally appear from the hallway wall, the girl in a casual black singlet and shorts pulling the struggling boy by the legs across the floor; unaware that their actions and argument where witnessed by the trio from downstairs.

"Look at that, speaketh their name and they shall appear. Are we psychic or what?" Kaito turned the two beside him with a toothy grin, calming a giggle from his sister. His wife on the other hand, sighed as she rubbed her soft temples.

"They really know how to make an entrance, don't they?" Miku added, hands tied behind her back as she watched the two. "Do they always bicker like that?"

It didn't take long for the man to respond with a nod. "Like crazy."

"So...Pretty much us when we were younger?"

A laugh escaped the man. "You could say that."

Feeling like it took forever to step down from each-step; sweat drops slipping down Rin's face as she struggled to pull her brother's weight down each-step while also taking it easy not to harm him. Didn't help that the scorching heat weighted her down like a ton of bricks. "Can you not have such a tantrum now! Do you want that Miku girl to think your some big, needy, baby?"

"I really don't care. I just want to get back to my book," Len's voice grew soft and let his body go limb as they reach the bottom of the stairs, accepting that he won't be escaping from this.

Now at the bottom of the steps, she let the boy's legs plop to the floor. "There! Finally!" voice gruff, she stood over the lad with legs spread and arms on her hips. "Geez, that's the last time I drag your sorry ass around like that," her cheeks were puffed out as she stretched out her back.

"Hello there!" suddenly, a sweet voice graced the blonde's ears from behind, causing her to freeze in spot. Mentally cursing her brother for embarrassing her in front of a stranger. "It's nice to meet you, I'm Shion Miku," she ends with a bow.

"Hi... I'm Kagamine Ri-!" seeing the girl for the first time, her body seemed stuck in place as the beat within her chest seemed to increase after just a quick glance at the girl standing before her.

Everything else seemed non-existent as Rin took a good analyses of the girl's body, noticing the teal, shag hair that reached her neck, flowing freely in all sorts of directions. The girl forced herself to keep her breath under control as she looked over her fit and curvy body; starting down from her Jean shorts that exposed much of her smooth, soft legs; up to the tucked in white shirt with purple straps wrapped over her shoulders that belonged to a purple tank top that could be seen underneath. Trinkets such as a gold microphone necklace and cat wrist warmer only made her more appealing to the blonde.

What took a hold of Rin's focus most though was the stunning blue eyes that was lighter in hue to her own. She was fully captivated by the two detailed dots that completed what she could consider a beautiful masterpiece. The younger teen was left speechless and staring like an idiot. At this point, even her thoughts were jumbled as her brain struggled to proceed the figure standing before her.

"O-O-O-Oh my god..." saliva fell back into her throat, mind finally thinking in a coherent language. "Thi-This girl...She's- she's so...

 **Hot!**

 _ **To be continued**_

* * *

 **Let the MikuXRin shipping commence now!**

 **Yep. That's all the input I have to add**


	7. Forced promises

_**Destination: 22 Vocal way**_

 _ **Time: 9:40AM**_

 _ **/**_

Lost to the gaze of the teal haired beauty, Rin failed to notice the look of bewilderment that riddled the girl's face. "Um? Are you oka-

"Hey," the intrusion of a cracked, nasally voice broke the blonde out of her spell and took the teal girl's attention. "I'm Kagamine Len," the boy stood to his feet, greeting the girl with a bow. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Hello!" Miku stuck her hand out to the lad. "I'm Hatsune Miku. I hope we can be great friends!" her toothy grin switched to a confused glance once she noticed the boy was looking down at her hand with a raised brow. Cheeks turned red once she realised why he was staring. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she bowed. "Silly me. Looks like I've gotten so used to American greeting customs."

"Ah! I've seen that done on T.V sometimes," much to the girl's surprise, the lad put out his hand. "Always wanted to give it a try. Mind showing me how it's done?" curiosity filled the boy's optics.

"Of course!" with a flap of her arms, she reached out and gripped his hand, teaching the boy how to properly hold onto the hand and the motions that came with it.

Watching as the teal haired girl showed her teachings, Rin continued to admire how radiant the girl's beauty shined. "My god. Who knew she'd be so pretty...What am I doing?" the blonde shook away those thoughts. "Don't do this to yourself again. Remember all those girls who broke your heart in the past, you don't want that to happen again, do you?" she asked herself, gaze now on the adults bringing in the girl's luggage; hands gripped to the hem of her shirt. "Besides. She's Kaito's sister. It'd be weird if I suddenly asked her out," a heavy sigh left as she took a step closer to the other teens.

"And that's how you properly greet another person in America," she ended her lesson, letting go of the lad's hand.

"Neat," a smile invaded the boy's lips as he looked to his palm. "Quite an odd custom if you ask me, but still cool to know none-the-less."

An erratic nod left the girl. "True, but if you think about it. A foreigner looking in may find our own greeting traditions quite strange."

"Ha ha. That's a good point. Never thought of it that way," the boy's lips stretched to his cheeks, falling to notice the blonde glaring at him with clenched fists. "Say, Miku. I don't know if you know this, but I'm one of the head members of the anti-Shadow Clip organisation," he pointed to himself, branding a proud grin with closed eyes; head slightly tilted up.

"Oh boy," the tiny girl thought as she rolled her eyes. "He's boasting about being against Shadow Clip again. Time to prepare for him to insult me without even realising it."

"Really! Wait...Are you bannalovz90 on 'Chan-Now'?"

Rin's half-open lids inched up once she saw the girl's curious, but excited outlook that wouldn't look out of place of a child opening Christmas presents. An uneasy feeling rushed through the blonde's stomach.

"Yep!" he answered with a powerful nod. "The one and only. You follow my page?"

"Hekz yeah!" the girl's face lit up with a raised tone. "I'm 'CutieMeeks39'," she rested her palm on her chest, showing a toothy grin. "Can't believe I'm actually meeting you in person and that you're crashing at my bro's house. Hope I don't sound like a crazed fangirl for saying this, but your blog posts are amazing! How do you manage to find the time to dig up all that info?" head tilted to the side as she inquired.

"Ah, don't worry. It's actually cool to meet a fan of my work," he stood tall, clenched fists at his sides. "It actually takes a lot of hard mental work; research and running around to keep my blog running with news and opinion pieces. Don't get the thousands of views by slacking it after all."

"I know that feel," a giggle left the girl. "Say. I hope you don't mind me asking since you kept it vague in the update, but what caused you to have to slow down on the updates?"

Brows furrowed, the boy's expression became stern; head drooped as a rough puff left his nose. "That'd be because of me," before the boy could answer, the freckled man slipped into their conversation as he placed another bag on the floor. "Len here had been spending an unhealthy amount of time searching for Shadow Clip info; to the point where he started to collapse from over exhaustion. So Meiko and I got to talking and made a deal that he'd only be able to research Clip for two hours a day."

"Hope your sticking to that, Len?" Meiko chipped with a sharp tone, gaining her husband's attention as she set down a lighter bag by the others. "Cause you know what happens if we find out you've been researching Shadow Pimp behind our backs?"

"'P-pimp'..." the small blonde's shoulders slumped, such a mistake causing her mouth to fall slightly.

Len on the other hand, took no issue with such a mistake. Instead, he crossed his arms and faced his back towards them. Cheeks pulled back as it took all his energy to keep from lashing out.

The woman's glare was intense on the boy's back after being completely ignored.

"Is that so?" Miku inquired as she quickly looked over to the lad. "Why didn't either you ever tell me that Len was so into hunting that nasty thief?"

"Well, here's the thing," he gestured Miku over to him which she quickly followed. Wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulling her in close, the man whispered. "I don't want Len to take this the wrong way, but he really wants to become a cop like myself."

"What's wrong with that?" she shrugged.

"Nothing. The problem is that when I told him that he needed to be older to start training, he took it the wrong way and started this whole Shadow Clip hunt to prove to me that he's ready to be a cop, but with the way he over does it I'm afraid it only proved the opposite," a heavy sigh left the man as he glanced over to the boy. "I never mentioned it because I didn't want you to accidentally bring it up," a humourless chuckle left him. "Guess it's too late for that."

The teen focused on the floor, sucking on her dry lips. "I understand, but won't taking time away from his research just make him more determined?"

Kaito's eye's fell half shut as he let the question swim around in his mind. "It's either risking that, or let him overwork himself to death," staying quiet for a second to ponder over such thoughts, his attention quickly fell to his sister who harboured an indecisive frown. "Anyway!" perking up, he patted his sister's back. "I'll leave you to getting acquainted with the terrible twosome. I need to get back to unpacking your stuff," a chuckle left to continue unloading the car.

"Alright," with a nod, the girl turned back and returned to the bitter teen whose back was still turned. "How are you holding up, Len?" she asked, tone chipper as she tried looking over his shoulder to see his face. Expression sunk when he didn't respond.

"...He still sees me as an incompetent child? Doesn't he?" the boy looked over his shoulder, wavering eyes on the girl.

"No!" Miku blurted out without thinking. "It's just...He's looking out for your well being. That's all..." an odd smile peered on her lips as she shrugged. This caused the boy's brows to furrow further and turn away again. A sigh left the girl, shoulders falling with her neck. Scratching her cheek, her optics lifted once she thought of something that could cheer up the lad. "Between you and me, even if you don't have as much time, the fact you are still putting your all into capturing that evil thief is amazing! I'd be an honour to help do my part and put that thief behind bars to rot once and for all."

"...Yeah...You're right!" twisting around, the lad now abounded his frown and showed his best smile; crossed arms now seemed to give him an air of confidence. "Thanks. I should really stop mopping about and use the limited time I have to gather all I can on that-" he paused and noticed Meiko was outside. "Bitch and stop her rain of terror," he shared a smile the girl's way. "Especially with a new ally at our side!"

"Hekz yeahz!" the girl pumped her fist. "Now that's what I like to hear!"

Rin watched as the two got so overly excited; pounding heart mixed with an aching stomach begged to have her cry out her woes. Chest pushed back and forth as she forced control over her breathing. "Fuck, even the new chick wants my head on a silver platter without even realising it," with that thought, the teen let out a sigh; delaying her blinks with shut lids before sinking to the floor. "Can't blame her though, I am the one putting her brother through this hell after all."

"Hello!"

"Ah!" the blonde jumped back once she heard Miku's greeting, too lost in her mind to realise the girl's giddy face was only inches away from her own.

"You've been very quit during our chat. What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Uh, ha yeah, guess you could say that," cheeks felt as hot as the sun as the blonde scratched the back of her head, trying to not seem flustered over the inviting sound of Miku's giggling. "L-Let me try that introduction again. I'm Kagamine Rin," she rested her palms on her lap and bowed. "It's very nice to meet you."

With a chuckle, the teal haired teen returned the favour. "Same here."

"Well look at you. Being all proper and polite for once," Len whispered as he elbowed the girl in the shoulder, receiving a nasty glare in the process. The boy shrugged, sharing an innocent smile. "Just saying."

That smug smile made the teen want to whack the boy right in the stomach. Only thing stopping her was their guest. "You've both been living here not long after I left for America, right?" the twins nod. "In that case, can I ask how you two have been holding up living with my bro and Meiko?" giving her brother the stink eye, she leaned closer to the two and whispered. "Tell me the truth. My bro has been acting like such an old fart the whole time, hasn't he?"

"Hey! I heard that!" the blue haired detective called out, causing his wife beside him to spit out a quick laugh. Seeing the younger three become so amused caused him to shake his head, showing a slight grin as he continued his work.

The blonde girl pushed past her snickering and showed a shrug. "I think the answer is pretty obvious there."

"Oh thanks, Rin!" the man couldn't help but break into bewildered laughter.

"Really though," the girl settled down. "They have been taking good care of us," she shared a smile while her brother showed a quick nod.

The teal haired girl's grin grew wide, showing off the sharpest tooth usually hidden by flapped lips. "I'm happy to hear you and your brother are so comfortable being a part of our crazy family," witnessing such a sweet smile emanate from the teal haired teen caused the younger girl to look away, hiding her small grin. "Say!" she yelled, catching both blondes off guard. "Who's 'DDS' is that?" she pointed to the black video game system sitting on top of a desk by the stairs.

"Oh. That's my sister's," Len lazily gestured to the girl before she could answer. "Trust me when I say that she's a real addict when it comes to those. Mine on the other hand, is gathering dust in my room."

"Hey! Who are you calling an addict?" a pout befell her cheeks as she crossed her arms.

"What?" he shrugged, branding a cheeky expression. "Calling it them I see them. Ms 'plays Grilled wars 2 seven hours straight'."

The girl's arms fell to her side, hands forming into fists. "That was one time!" she argued, cheeks still puffed.

"So you're a huge gamer I take it?" the girl's question took back the blondes' attention. The smaller girl responded with a nod and a quit yes. "Awesome!" she hopped a bit, clapping her hands together, which raised the two's brow. "What type of genres are you into? Have a fave game? How long have you been playing games for? What got you into them?-"

"Whoa! What the heck is this chick saying?" the girl's pupils sky rocketed, mind trying to comprehend the barrage of questions that leaped from the teens' motor mouth. She turned to her brother with a questioning gaze; only to receive an unhelpful glace that practically mimicked her own. The girl soon stared into Rin's blue eyes, curious optics waiting for the tiny girl to speak.

"Oh...Um..." the girl scratched the back of her neck. "I'm sorry. Could you repeat the first question please? I didn't catch that," a embarrassed grin pierced the girl's lips.

A gasp left Miku as she covered her mouth. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she bowed, playing with her necklace once she stood back up straight. "I got a little overexcited there. I'll just stick with asking what your fave genre is?"

Letting out a sigh, the younger girl scratched her cheek in ponder. "That's a tough one. Guess I'll go with the boring answer and say that it depends on the game."

"Nice!" she shared a thumbs up. "Tots into action platformers myself, but I have a whole range of genres I like that it's to hard to pick just one," a smile spread across the blonde's lips, nodding as she took in every word.

In the background. The two adults who were busy unpacking and sorting the teal girl's stuff. They glance over to the three in deep conversation. "It's so good to see them taking a liking to sis already," a relived smile peered as he brought in another bag. "Kind of worried they would have been scared off by her, especially Rin."

"Ah, I had no worries about that," the brunette responded, planting a kiss on the man's cheek. "I knew she would be too sweet for them to dislike her."

"I know, but that's not what worries me," he looked over to the three chatting and laughing together; showing a wilted smile that hid an army of concern. "I'm just worried about how they'll treat her once they realise how energetic she can get," his stomach felt ill once he pictured the worst of scenarios in his head.

Kaito's brows rouse quick once he felt tough, but welcoming arms wrap themselves around his stomach. He tilted his head around to see his wife's smile only inches away from him. "Len and Rin are different to those other people," she planted a quick kiss on his lips. "I'm positive they'll accept her with no problems."

His frown now a thing of the past, the man let out a quick chuckle and rested his palm on top of the woman's, intertwining their fingers together. "You're right," he said, looking back to the trio. "I really have nothing to worry about."

"Wow! They still have 'Hello Planet' at the arcade?" still going on about the interactive media. Miku let out a squeal and bounced in spot over the news. "That is so freaking awesome!"

"Yep," Rin calmly responded, watching the girl move all over the place, having trouble keeping up with such high spirits. "And not only that, but I also currently hold the highest score in the game," she rested her hands on her hips and held her head high; pushing her falling glasses back on the rim of her nose.

"Such a waste of good money if you ask me," she shared a nasty glance Len's way, deciding it'd take too much of a breath to respond.

"Really!? You have the high score!? That's amazing!" the girl slapped her cheeks, causing Rin to giggle uncontrollably. "That's it! It's decided!"

"Wha! Huh?" looking around the room, the blondes cheeks sizzled yet again, heartbeat rapid when the girl stood only a foot away, grabbing a hold her hands.

"You'll be in charge of giving me the grand tour of the city tomorrow! Gonna need someone to reintroduce me to everything and point out all the new stuff added in my absence."

"What!?" face cooled into a perplexed expression as the blonde pulled her hands away from the teal haired teen, holding them up in a defensive stance like she was being held up at gunpoint. "W-Why me?"

"Well," the girl leaned even closer and flicked her head. Causing the boy beside them to sinker at the agitated look painted across his sister's face. "You mentioned how you love to frequent the arcade. So what better way to get to know each-other then hanging out to play video games!" the girl shared a sickly sweet grin.

"...What is this chick's problem? Why is she suddenly being so pushy and why did she flick my head?" a groan left the blonde as she rubbed her forehead. "Um. I never agreed to that," she responded with an aggressive frown.

"Oh. No need to act like that, Rinny. I'm sure we'll have a blast together."

"Rinny!" the blonde's eyes looked ready to pop out as her mouth fell a gape. "Okay! It's official. I don't care if this is Kaito's sister, or that's she's smoking hot," she swallowed back some saliva after that thought. "I don't like her."

"Ha ha ha!" the boy broke out into tearful laughter after witnessing his sister's expression. "'Rinny' Genius! So going to be calling you that from now on-Rinny. Ha ha ha!"

The girl's teeth clutched together, the sound of his squeaky laughter grading on her ears. "Shut up, Len!" her right eye flickered once she noticed he wasn't going to stop laughing any-time soon. "Why don't you just take him instead?" she lazily pointed to her brother.

"Sorry, Rinny," a soft snicker left the lad. "I'll be very busy meeting up with some friends tomorrow. Besides," he wrapped his hands behind his neck. "You're the one who promised to escort Miku around; can't be a bitch and break that promise now, can you?" a cheeky smile creeped on his lips. Making sure to whisper the B word.

"Wait! I never aggr-

"Hey, did I over hear your conversation right?" done with placing the bags, the older couple approached them. "Are you going to show little Meeks here around the city?" the brunette asked patting the older girl's head.

"Actually, I hav-

"Yep!" Miku interrupted while bouncing on her heels, wrapping her arm around the bewildered blonde. "I asked Rinny here if she wanted to show me around and she was nice enough to say yes!" she squealed, causing the blonde's eardrums to pop for mercy.

"No I-

"Really?!" Meiko responded with a single clap, tone filled to the brim with energy. "That's sweet of you to offer," she patted the blonde's head, leaving her hair in a mess again. "Nice to see that you're trying to get out and socialise more."

"What is this? Everyone ignore Rin day!" the girl's eyes dropped as that thought ran through her mind; soft grumbles escaping her. "Erg! Just let it go. You have clearly lost this battle to the ocean haired seductress, just roll with it," a heavy sigh left the girl.

"...Well, she mentioned how much she liked the arcade, how could I say no after that," the teen forced out an unruly smile in attempts to appease the lady in red.

Though Meiko was thrilled by the news, her freckled husband looked on with inquire as he could not only spot the mask the blonde wore, but also the sagged lips that flashed on his sister that quickly disappeared behind a smile. Brow raised as he had an inkling about what was really going on. "It's great to hear you are all getting along," he intervened with a chipper tone. "Now that you all got to know each-other, could you three please help us place the bags in the room?"

"Aw man! Now I have to do physical labour!?" the lad whined. "I'll never get to finish my book at this rate!"

"Len!" the woman called out in a rough tone. "I know you want to get back to your book; which is great for the mind, I know; but complaining every time we ask for a little help is very unhealthy behavior," she crossed her arms waiting for him to respond, only receiving the silent treatment as he turned away.

"Ah! Come on, Len! It's not that bad," Miku knocked her elbow into his, gaining a blank stare. "We can continue our rant over that evil Shadow Clip girl while we work if you want?"

In an instant, the boy's lids spring up. "Well what are we waiting for, let's get packing already," a spring now in his step, the boy joined the ladies as they made their way over to the bags. Miku sharing a victorious smirk with an impressed looking Meiko as he went on about the mysterious thief.

Back hunched forward from being forced to listen to her family bad mouth her once again, Rin starts to drag her feet over to the bags, trying to block out the harsh comments that have to do with her other persona.

She stopped in place after feeling a hand softly gripping her shoulder; turning around, she saw the stomach of someone in a causal T-shirt before tilting up to see a familiar blue haired detective standing over her. "You didn't agree to show her around tomorrow, did you?" he asked, voice low and calm.

With bulging eyes, the teen franticly looks everywhere but at the man as she grips the hem of her shirt. "What? No! Of course I...What would give you that..." seeing the man watch her with an unconvinced frown, the girl let out a sigh, freeing her shirt. "Yeah. I never did. Hell, I know this sounds bad, but I really don't want to. How did you know I never agreed?"

Though melancholy, the man still forced his best smile as he patted her shoulder. "Well for starters, I am a detective, so it's easy for me to spot your tics when you're lying," the girl pouted, forgetting that fact. "And two..." a heavy sigh left as his lips curled down. "Not the first time she has done something like this to try to make friends."

A puff of air left the blonde's nose as she faced away with crossed arms. "She doesn't have to be so forceful about it. She could have just asked politely," she quickly fixed up her glasses. "She's way to freaking hyper for her own good, seriously? Can she slow down a little so the rest of us can keep up?"

"Rin!" the man's voice became dour, causing the girl to flinch.

For an instance, she forgot she was talking about the man's little sister. "Sorry Kaito," she presents a slow bow.

A sigh left the man as he scratched his cheek. "It's alright, Rin," a silence soon came between the two. The blonde in no mood to chat while the blue haired man rested his head on his shoulder, deep in thought. "I know my sister can be a little hyper active and high maintenance at times, but I really do believe that if you give her a proper chance then I'm sure you'll be the best of friends," seeing the blonde keep her gloomy expression caused the man's heart to sink. Staying stubborn, the man approached and knelled to the small girl's level, resting his palm on her shoulder as he looked into her blue optics. "The circumstances could have been better; I won't lie there, but I really think you showing sis around town is a great way for you two to get to know each other better."

"You're only saying that because she's your sister."

"Maybe," the man nodded as he smacked his lips. "I'm not forcing you to be friends with her though, that would be unfair for me to ask. I'm just asking you to give her a proper chance before you pass judgement. Can I ask you to do that favour for me?"

Taking a second to look to the floor, she quickly rolled her eyes as she looked into the puppy like ones staring back. A heavy sigh rushed from her mouth. "Fine. I'll give her a shot. No promises though."

"That's fair. Thanks Rin," he tapped her shoulder, sharing a slight grin before pushing himself to his feet. "Anyway, I think we'd better start helping the others with the unpacking. Wouldn't want them to get cross with us for leaving all the hard work to them now do we?" he said with a chuckle as he picked up one of the bags.

"You can say that again," the blonde retorted, struggling to lift a heavy bag; forced to begrudgingly switch to a lighter one. As she made her way up the stars, her thoughts flashed to the teal haired stranger that entered her life. "Maybe Kaito is right. Sure, she can be annoying...And very pushy, but she seems harmless. Plus she does have a great body with a nice as-"

Pausing, the girl shook her head as if washing those risque thoughts right out of her noggin. "What the hell am I even thinking!" with that out of her mind, she repositioned the bag then continued to lug it up the staircase. "You can't keep trying to get with every girl just because they're sexy-

 **I can't have my heart broken again**

 **/**

 **Destination: ?**

 **Time: ?**

Seated comfortably, the woman with long black hair done in two large pony tails stares into a laptop that rested on her desk; chin placed on her intertwined fingers. Artificial light reflects on her empty expression. She stared intensely at the screen, deep in thought as she analysed every bit of it.

"Um...Ms. Zatsune?"

Pulled from her concentration, the woman at the desk slowly lifts her head to the towering double doors a head. Aqua gaze peered on the person who was half way in the room. Letting off a puff of air, she gestured the lackey to enter then returned her focus to the screen.

With a bow, the person entered the room and slowly took a seat on one of the two ageing store brought chairs. Soft breaths left them as they tried to slow down the painful pounding in their chest. "We have gathered as much info regarding where the next treasure will be kept, but most of the important information like the schematics of the building and when it'll arrive to the museum still can't be accessed. I recommend we-

"Where's that other good for nothing?" she interrupted, voice dull. "I dolly remember calling the two of you to be here."

The person paused, taken a back by the question. "Uh...Oh? Well I'm afraid that I can't get in contact with them, Mam. I'm sorry," she was quick to bow.

"Hm. That unindustrious barbarian. Probably inebriated behind a dumpster again," Zatsune slowly shook her head. "Moving on from that walnut brained halfwit. Now what is this about your incapability to provide the necessary info we need?"

"Yes! Um... I was just about to get to that," the person's voice fluctuated as they frantically sorted through their notes, avoiding the emotionless void of Zatsune's eyes. The lackey was forced to squint their lids to help try to see the words within the dimly lit room. "Info has become scarce due to the head ups restricting details to only the highest ranking of officers, believing one of their own could be in cohorts with Shadow Clip."

A puff left the woman's nose before swinging her chair around; back faced against the small lackey as she took in the vast ocean right out her window. "Excuses. The common tool of a pathetic coward who can't see how much of a feeble failure they truly are," Zatsune placed her fingers together, tapping them to the beat of her monotone voice. "You know how much I despise cowards? Do I need to remind you about what I like to do when I see one?"

The person's face turned pale, swallowing back as their mouth mimicked movement yet the words wouldn't come out. "I-I-I-I k-know that M-M-Ms Zatsune," they took deep breaths to steady their speech. "Which is why I recommend that if worse comes to worse, than we should steal the info ourselves."

"That's really what your idiotic brain could think up? Jeopardising my delicate operation by getting me physically involved? What if I get caught?" she asked, glimpsing behind with a plain expression.

"Ah! Don't worry mam!" the person waved their hands about. "I'll handle getting the necessary info, no need to get your hands dirty for this one," a trembling smile appeared on their face.

Letting off a weak huff. She returned her attention to the scene ahead, no response to her lackey's current proposition. She stayed quit, leaving the person fiddling with her thumbs while waiting for a response. "...Do you believe in fate?"

Such a question left the person bewildered. "Um...If I have to be honest, not really...Why do you ask?"

"Hm. Such a typical response for someone in your line of work; yet it can't be helped when you haven't experienced the hell I've been forced to suffer through," though her words were harsh, no change in tone, or hint of passion could be felt. Only a bleak voice that never seemed to fade. "Regardless of our differencing believes, I have another job for you."

"S-Sure. Anything for you Ms Zatsune."

Turning back, she gripped the top of her laptop and switched it around for the person to see."Do you see this girl here?" she pointed to a young teen taking a photo of herself with a capture explaining that she's back in her home country. Shag teal hair seemed to be waving with the wind.

The person bent forward, taking a good look at every small detail that made up the girl. "Yeah. What about her?"

"I want you to find out where she's staying and keep track of her movements. She's very essential to my operation after all."

Smacking her lips, the person took a breath, mentally preparing herself for the question rushing within her head. "This may be injudicious of me to ask, but why is she so important?"

Saying nothing, Zatsune gets to her feet, wrapping her arms behind. This action caused the person seated to flinch. "No need to threat. I'm just stretching my legs," she heard a relived sigh leave the lacky. "It may not seem like some random adolescent teen is an important pawn to my plan, but in reality, she holds more value than you; that prehistoric ape and that obnoxious thief put together," with soft steps, the woman stands by her window, placing a palm on the chilled glass; as if she was touching the ocean. "It may not seem like it, but that girl-

 **Is responsible for ruining my life**

 _ **To be Continued**_

* * *

 **Another chapter down. Many more to go.**

 **Hi everyone reading! So far, I've been keeping up a constant schedule by posting this story every two weeks which I have to admit, am a little proud of myself for doing so. (Sorry if that comes off as stroking my ego)**

 **Sadly though, may need to break this and put this story on hold for a bit. Sorry for all who are reading, but life is getting in the way a bit and I sort of put to many projects on myself that needs to be done asap. Don't worry, if I do need to delay this, I plan to only make last to January (Basically: next year) So I hope that calms anyone's nerves a bit.**

 **Again sorry about this.**

 **Have a good day/evening/night everyone and see you again soon.**


	8. Meeting a murderer

_**Destination: Genima womans prison**_

 _ **Time: 7:30 PM**_

 _ **/**_

Walking down a wide, slightly cracked hallway.

Three officers tread lightly down the dim, flickering hall; clopped eco's followed behind as they passed stoic guards and rattled beasts that clipped to the worn down bars of their gray cages.

"Well well, this is rare? Pigs visiting at this hour? Must be my birthday."

"Look that butch, pink haired bitch. She'd love it in here with all bush she could eat. "

"YOU FUCKING PIGS! YOU PUT ME IN HERE! I swear! I'LL SLICE ALL YOUR FUCKING NECKS!"

The pink haired officer taking lead keep a straightened posture and neutral outlook throughout the heckling. The two that followed behind didn't fare much better, failing to harbour the same mental vigour. Chests pumped at rapid rates with their pupils hopping about the many strangers that wanted to tear them limb from limp.

Swallowing back the build up liquid, the freckled blue haired detective tried his hardest to keep is breath steady. "...Agh!" he hopped back, bumping into the gray-haired officer walking alongside him, surprising her. He narrowly avoided getting grabbed by one of the many hands that reached out through the bars. "Sorry, Haku."

"It's alright," the woman nodded.

"Hey officer, why you so jumpy? Aren't you interested in this free ride?" the ragged inmate gestured her body, swaying her hips.

Face clenched, the man's body shuttered after hearing such a slurred tone come from the prisoner. He sped up his pace and caught back up with the two. "Luka. Remind me. Why did you drag me away from home for this?" his tone was sharp, cautious optics keep note of wondering mits.

A huff left the woman. "Isn't obvious why you're here? Haku!" her raise in volume startled the gray- haired woman. "I don't feel like straining my throat for a sack of shit like him, explain why we're here!"

"Oh um..." put on the spot, Haku's fingers tapped along her chin as she debated where to start. "So um. You know the case I was a part of where an archaeologist named Noriko was murdered."

The man's brow grew only to furrow inward. "Of course I know that case," he swallowed back, the trail of warm liquid did nothing to calm the lump in his throat. "...I did a lot of research on it after all... Why bring that case up now?"

"Well.." she scratched her cheek. "I know it's hard to talk about, but Luka believes that case ties in with Shadow Clip and why she's stealing the treasures."

"Let me guess," his glare pierced Luka's back. "You think this case and that one are related because it was the first time someone attempted to steal the Yokune treasures?" spit flew from him as the rasp in his voice grew. He received no response. "...Go on Haku, sorry for interrupting."

"I-It's alright," Haku's eyes shuffled between the two; head sunk, wishing she was anywhere but here. "Anyway! To give a summary of the case, we received a call from a museum; which one- I sadly don't remember; about two thieves trying to steal the newly discovered Yokune treasures, culprits being a Ms Noriko and Ruko. We raced there as fast we could, thinking it'd just be a simple robbery." she paused, taking a heavy breath and closing her eyes.

They spring back open after feeling something soft grip her shoulder. Looking up, she saw in was the man's hand and trailed up his arm to arrive at the bleak but supportive smile he bared. She forced a grin and showed a quick nod.

Viewing the scene from over her shoulder, Luka rolled her eyes and let off a groan.

Taking a breath, the woman continued. "As you already know, the case wasn't that simple. We separated to search the place with one of the other officer's successfully finding the two," she bit her lower lip. "Only... Noriko was dead and Ruko was passed out with a gun in her hand."

"The reason Ruko was arrested was because the finger prints on the weapon belonged to her, right?" the man added.

"No only that, but the bullet markings matched the gun that was used to take the woman's life and the angle that the bullet pierced her chest could only be achieved with someone of Ruko's height. The only thing that we could never figure out was where she got the gun, though our current theory is that it originated from the black market online," biting down on her index finger, Haku paused, The image of the woman's stiff body splattered across her mind.

Focus switched from his partner to the long track a head, one that was delayed thanks to a guard stopping to evaluate them. "Sounds like a pretty open and shut case to me," the man glanced over to his partner who nodded. He's brow raised, noticing that her lips drooped along with her lids. He decided now was not the best time to ask.

"Okay. So I understand why we are investigating the case, but that leaves the question," he addressed Luka, who had her arms spread out for the metal detector. "Why am I here? I know you need Haku because she was a part of the case, but I was never assigned to it?"

A humourless chuckle left the woman, arms at a cross when the inspection was over. "Not surprised that mush you call a brain couldn't figure it out," her eyes shut, not bothering to look behind to see the irritated frown the man branded.

"Can you skip the insulting me part and onto the reason why I'm here already?" tone sharp as he readied to be inspected.

"No need to act like a whiny bitch," she rolled her eyes. "There are two reasons why I brought you here tonight. The first being those twin brats you have staying in your house."

"Their names are Rin and Len and I'd advise you not to refer to them in that manner!" he lashed out, fist at the ready.

"Whatever," she shrugged. "Point is, tweedle dum tweedle dummer are related to the victim and the murderer to this case. Since you know them, maybe that Ruko bitch will open up to us a bit," a puff of air left her. "Not like a murderer would care, but it's worth a shot."

"Oh, I see... That actually makes a lot of sense," though reluctant, the man let his fist uncurl and let his figures swing at his side. "What is the second reason?"

"My fucking god, you really are an idiot if you couldn't figure that out," a grin could be seen as she peered over her shoulder. "It gives me a great excuse to make you suffer," satisfaction rushed through her veins as she watched the man's seemly calm expression switch to sour very quickly. "You pussies done with your inspections? Good! Stop wasting time and get a move on already," showing now signs of slowing down, the woman rushed a head, leaving the others to have to chase after.

Now caught up, Haku took a couple of breaths. "Well...At least it's better than spending the night wasted, eh Kaito," she joked, trying her best to sound energetic while she bumped his shoulder. Lids fell south once she saw the bitter expression on the man's face.

"I can't believe I have to see that woman again," the freckled man thought, the commotion from the other prisoners seemed non-existent. "I don't know if I'd be able to stomach seeing her face again-

 **The one that took Rin and Len's parents away from them**

 **/**

Stuck in a cage built for one sat a lonely figure dressed an orange jumpsuit, seated on the floor, back rested against a gray wall littered with scratch marks and faded scarlet splattered about. The figure takes a slip from a styrofoam cup filled with coffee, gazing out the singular window rested above at the opposite wall; a calming breath leaving them as they took in the moonlight's rays, brightening the otherwise dull room to light. "Another day in paradise," she thought, taking another sip of her drink.

Her multi-coloured eyes shot to the left, the loud clump of steps that slowly grow closer clued her in that she had potential visitors approaching. Her instincts were right.

"So- you're the famous killer, Yokune Ruko I assume? I would say it's a pleasure to met you, but that'd be a filthy lie."

Three officers stood outside her cage. "Well hello once again officer Haku. Been awhile since we last seen each other," Ruko lets out a quiet grunt as she gets to her feet, towering above all three of the officers. She brushed off the silent glare of the man and the focused pink haired lady standing closest to the bars. "Who are your new friends? Guessing their not here to vouch for my innocence, huh?" she took another sip from her cup.

Laughter quickly escaped the pink haired woman. "Like hell I'd believe that you're innocent!" her amused state soon took an aggressive turn.

The prisoner was unfazed by such rage, to distracted with her drink to care. "...Hm. You should probably join the club; I'm sure they have membership cards to spare," she waved her hand as she sat on the lumped mattress.

An eager smile was painted across Luka's lips. "Oh... Looks like we found ourselves a joker. Well how about this for a joke!" startling the officers behind, Luka slammed her fist on the metal bars, the loud thud travelling throughout the halls, rallying up the other inmates. "We suspect that you are the mastermind behind the Shadow Clip's existence!"

The other officers lids shoot up. "Huh? You never informed me that you suspect she's behind the thefts?" Haku admitted.

"That's hardly a surprise," the man's tone dulled, piercing eyes on the woman's back. "She'd rather leave her team in the dark and take all the glory for herself. Isn't that right, Luka?"

"Hm. You whine like a bitch about my methods, but look," they followed the woman's index finger pointing to the inmate laying in bed, scratching her long, ragged black hair. "Doesn't that seem a bit strange to you?" she inquired; smile full of confidence as she already knew the answer.

"Hm? I don't get it? What is so strange, she looks fine to me?"

"I think what Luka is trying to say is that in itself is strange," seeing his partner scratch her head and share a dumbfounded look clued him in that he needed to explain further. "The fact that Ms Ruko here is so calm after such an accusation is not exactly normal."

"Oh...I see," Haku trailed with her words, not sure what to think.

"...I know you bastards are so eager to charge me with another crime, but you're wasting your time," a yawn left as she laid down, rolling to the side, back towards them. "Just because she's after my families treasures, doesn't mean I have a single fucking clue about Shadow Clip," she started scratching the unpleasant, backside of her body. "Trust me, if I had any part in this I'd be so against that tacky outfit she wears. I mean a 'domino mask?' P~please."

Puff of violent air left the woman's nose as she watched the laid back inmate with vigilant eyes. "Like I'd believe that shit. Haku!" she turned to the gray-haired woman, ignoring her jumpy reaction. "You know how this criminal's mind works. Get her to talk already and make it quick! I don't have all night."

"Y-Yes mam," no longer waiting to stare into the fiery green optics, Haku showed a quick bow and turned her attention back to the cell. With a gulp, she took a slow, rickety step closer to the slick metal bars that contained a potential beast.

In that moment, Kaito looked over to his superior officer, gloom lips signalled his distaste for such leadership. Luka corked her lip, disregarding his silent complaint.

Despite being outside the cage, Haku held a tight grip to a baton that she concealed in her belt. Sucking on her lips, she looked into the room that hosted only the bare necessitous such as a bed, toilet and a barred window that let the sparkled moonlight enter. Optics soon landed on the woman who laid in bed as if she had not a worry in the world.

"...So, old and gray, are you going to say something, or are going to continue admiring my fine ass?" despite staring at the wall, Ruko knew she was close thanks to the sound of her footsteps.

With a blink, her pupils deflated to the cracked floor. "Don't call me that...I'm only 26," hearing a rough, cracking sound come from behind, Haku turned back; eyes widened once she saw the source of the noise came from the irritated officer. She quickly faced the prisoner's way and swallowed back the remaining fear. "...I'm sure you know why we came here to visit, right Ruko?" she spoke forth, posture now straight and voice thick.

"Yeah yeah. Shadow Clip and all," she lazily waved in the smaller woman's general direction. "Seriously though, don't I get even a 'hello' after all these years? We have history after all don't we?"

Haku's heart rate increased as she listened, needing to take a breath. "The only history we share is me interviewing you for hours over the heinous crime you committed."

"That's right!" Ruko suddenly sprung up and waged around her finger. " We don't have the same history like best buds do. Ours would be more like you and your officer buds accusing me of a murder that I never committed and locking me up in here for life," the frown she hosted when she spoke disappeared; replaced with puffed cheeks. "Still...A hello would have been welcomed."

The woman raised a brow at such behaviour. "What happened to you? Why are you so energetic and snarky? I remember you being very shy and quiet when I interviewed you?"

Lips now sunk, eyes looming as she watched the officer scratch her head. "That's the thing about being committed to a prison; guilty or not. Unless you want to end up as dead meat or worse, you have to learn change...No matter how much you don't want to," she laid on her back this time, ignoring the wondering expression on the gray-haired woman and the ragged eyes of the blue haired man. "Enough of this type of discussion though, weren't you going to ask me about Shadow Clip or something?"

A small growl left the tiny woman. "Before 'You' distracted me. I wanted to let you know that we feel that you are involved in recent thefts of your family heirlooms. In fact...We believe you are the real mastermind behind such an idea," Haku began sucking her inner cheek.

"Hm!" her lip tugged up. "Really? I created Shadow Clip... While stuck behind bars? You people must be crazy to come up with an accusation like that," a bellow of amusement left as she slapped her knees. "Pray tell, what evidence do you have to link my involvement?"

"Well..." Haku turned to Luka with a vague expression, hoping for a signal to help her along. No mercy was given as her superior continued to show an icy glare; as if demanding her to figure it out. "Um...You see.." she faced back to the cell, hand stroking her chin as the wheel in her brain turned. "...You and Noriko tried to steal those same treasures many years ago. So that more then links you to this current case..."

The woman's low, wavy voice caused Ruko to glance over with sunken lids; witnessing a dumbfounded expression that seemed more focused on the floor. "Really? That's all you got?" she looked back up at the ceiling, counting the dots that could barely be seen. "Listen. I may have been involved in trying to steal my families treasures for reasons you pigs don't understand, that'd be ignorant for me to deny," she shrugged. "To suggest that I'd be attempting to steal them again three years later; not to mention having the disadvantage of being stuck behind bars with no evidence; is just preposterous."

"Um...Just because you're behind bars, doesn't mean you couldn't send instructions to Shadow Clip. After all, the prison staff aren't allowed to read letters."

"Ooooo~ Clearly someone didn't learn how to conduct a proper investigation during police academy," with a taunting tone, she showed a grin, picturing the dumbfounded look in Haku's eyes. "If you bothered to check, you would have known that I have never contacted, nor received contact from anyone outside the prison. No letters. No calls. No visitors," with a lifted hand, she raised a different digit after each mention.

Both Haku and Kaito; who watched on like hawks; shared the same wide-eyed surprise. "Y-You never had a single visitor?" she looked on with steady eyes.

The prisoner continued to stare at the ceiling. Expression bare as she didn't bother to answer.

Teeth clenched, the detective turned his attention to the shorter woman that stood beside him. "I'm going take a wild guess and say you already knew about this from the start, didn't you?"

"Of course I fucking did, you putrid excuse of a detective," she wasted no time responding, looking to him with her own fiery glare. "Looked into it before we came here and yes. This stain on this earth is telling the truth. Not a single one of her family or friends has made contact since she's been locked up. Quite pathetic really," she puffed out an air of amusement.

The man closed his bagged eyes as he began rubbing his temples. "And you didn't bother to share this information, why?"

"I was testing to see how you both handle info gathering," she crossed her arms, facing the cage once again. "As anticipated, you two are doing a poor job by wasting time with irrelevant questions and in your case, standing around not uttering a word like a stupid child."

"What the fuck did you expect!" the man lashed out, hovering over her with mouth a gape. "It's the leader's job to inform their team about the situation and get them better prepared and motivated! Not withhold it from them and expect grand results!" though his voiced raised and pushing vein protruding from his forehead; Luka showed no signs of concern, in fact, she just shook her head and chuckled. Chest pounding, the man closed his eyes and rustled his hand through his smooth hair. "Point I'm trying to make is that this the clear sign that you are a poor leader."

"...Must you yap so much?" she rolled her eyes. "To counter your idiotic point," she shared a cocky smile. "How exactly did that type of leadership work out for you?"

Taken a back as if he was whacked in the gut, the detective was left speechless as his optics dropped to his wide feet. Luka only watched, amused over such sorrow.

Laughter soon filled the air, catching their attentions. The source of the amusement came from the caged woman; hand slapped over her head as she banged her bed. "With people like you leading the hunt, it's no wonder why that thief keeps getting away."

Luka raised a stiff lip at the woman. "To inform your putrid mind, I'll have you know that all those failed attempts to capture Shadow Clip were not lead by me," she looked to the detective with a cocky grin. "But by this incompetent 'man' over here."

The man responded with a sour expression, biting his irritated tongue.

"Ah! I was so engrossed by this circus act of idiots that I forget to ask about chicken pox over here," she tilted her head back, chuckling at the man meekly rubbing his cheeks. "So Mr spotted man of mystery. Mind introducing me to yourself, or are you going to leave me in the dark?"

Done scratching at his cheeks, the man took his turn at stepping up to the isolated cage. A weighted breath left his nose as he looked into the dark box; watching carefully like she was a sleeping bear in a cave. He quickly glanced over to Haku who stood by him, staring at her with sunken optics.

No looking much better, the woman forced a small grin followed by a subtle nod.

That's all the support it took for the man calm his unstable nerves and face the intimidating cage with a confident stance. "If you must know... I'm Shion Kaito. Head de-" gaze focused away from the criminal as an irritated breath left him. He quickly recovered and peered back into the cage. "Former- head detective of the Shadow Clip case," voice stern as his eye begin to twitch as he continued to stare at the prisoner.

"Shion Kaito?" under her breath, the woman's outlook turned sour, eyes now fall to her stomach. "So you're the one looking Rin and Len huh?" sucking on her lips, Ruko pushed herself up and slid over; giving the man her full attention as she sat at the edge of her bed.

Eyes grew with shock before crunching together; bearing his clenched teeth. "How the hell did you hear about that?"

A chuckle void of energy left her, heavy eyes watching the stained, crack filled floor. "It's amazing what info you can find in here if you know how to sweet talk the right people," without looking, the woman's body tensed up, feeling the piercing gaze the man dawned on her. She stayed quiet for a few seconds before lifting her head once more. "How are the tweenies doing anyway?" a small smile danced along her lips. "They must have grown quite a bit while I've been in here. Hope I'll still be able to recognise them."

The detective's hands quickly curled into fists; lips becoming tense with added pressure to his teeth. "What makes you think you have the right to know?"

Though he didn't raise his voice, the quiet anger that lurked behind the detective's tone caused the woman's eyes to grow wide and mouth to fall. "...Look. I know none of you believe me," voice steady, she lifted herself off the bed and stopped only inches away from the bar.

Body tightened; chest pounding faster now that she stood only inches away from him, knowing she is able to reach out and strangle him if she wanted. The man stood his ground, deciding not to waver.

"Noriko was...Is still my best friend. Now I don't know what happened that day, all I know is that I blacked out and was told that I was the murderer," the woman gripped onto her chest, face scrunching up as she fought to hold back the salty liquid hat begged to pour out. "But that is not true! I would never even think about killing my best friend!" her voice suddenly grew louder.

Studying her expression and body movement; gaze full of doubt as he could see no sign of obvious tics. "...No..." he said under his breath, mind demanding him to cast away such thoughts. "I've read and re-read the files multiple times and all evidence points to you being the killer," the man's brows furrowed as violent breaths left his nose.

"Bullshit!" she screamed out while gripping a tight hold to the bars. Such an outburst sent only Haku jumping back. "There has to be something! Any small thing that could be out of place that points to my innocence!" Ruko now switched to banging on the bars. "Noriko's real killer is still out there! I'm positive that if you re-investigate the case you'll be able to find the real killer and set her soul at peac-

"Would you just stop!"

Ruko's grip loosened on the bars. Fallen back into silence with raised optics.

Fatigued breaths left the detective; glare sparked with such anger that he looked ready to attack the woman. He felt a soft hand rest on his shoulder and quickly looked to the side to see his worried gray-haired partner beside him. All it took was that panicked expression to calm him, if only a little. Signalling that we would be okay, she shared a nod and stepped back.

"...Now I don't know whether you are lying or are just in plain denial, but the overwhelming evidence all points to you being the killer," eyes close as he takes a breath to recompose himself. "You may spout that you are innocent, but all I see is a murder who betrayed her friend and took a mother away from two wonderful kids."

A gasp left Ruko. "Bu-but..." her arms loosened; hands sliding down the bars with her head trailing behind. "I would never take their mother away from them."

"Hm. Those two have suffered a great deal because of you," a horrible empty feeling could be felt in the pit of his stomach as he continued to look at the inmate. "It sickens me how you can keep denying your guilt like that."

The woman gasped as she looked back up at the man. "I-I can't even fathom the hell they are going through," smacking her lips, the woman's shoulders loosen; focus away from him. "I-I," she struggled to take a breath. "I should have listened to my gut. She would still be alive if I tried harder to talk her out of stealing those treasures."

Kaito continued to watch Ruko, trying his best to find anything odd about her body movements. To his confession, he could find nothing out of the ordinary. Even her croaky voice seemed genuine.

"For fuck sake! Enough of this melodramatic bullshit already!" stopping to the cage, she pushed the man out of the way and gripped the prisoner by the collar, forcing her bend down to her eye level. "I don't care about any of the family shit you both have! I now you created Shadow Clip! So you better tell me who she is right here and now or so help me I will make you glad that you are stuck behind that cell!"

Getting past the initial shock; the prisoner recomposed herself; despite the fist that raised above her; tight grip that was powerful enough to pull her down; and the furious gaze did nothing to change her dull expression. "Lady. I don't know if you noticed, but I'm in a prison. Threats worse than that are pretty much my breakfast."

A laugh escaped the pink aggressor. "For a disgusting piece of scum, you show some surprising bravery," her fist became tighter. "Let's see if I can change that."

"Luka! Stop!"

Before she could strike the female down, another force stopped her from following through. She looked over, her already grim expression became fiercer once she saw a certain blue haired man holding her back. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Get off me!"

"No!" he held tight as she tried to shake him off. "I can't allow you to attack someone already behind bars!"

"You fucking idiot! This woman is holding info from me! I'm getting it out of her no matter what! If you ruin this chance for me I swear to god I'll make your life more of a living hell!"

"By torturing her!? That's not how we uphold the law!" he tried hard hold her back, but was slowly losing his grip as she tugged her arm "...What if she's telling the truth!?" in that instant, Kaito's eyes looked to the back of her head with inquire once the shaking stopped.

"...The fuck are you on about?" she spat out with hardened shoulders; glare felt sharp as daggers as she peered over her shoulder.

"Think about this with a cool head for once. What if you're wrong? What if she truly has no knowledge of Shadow Clip? Then you'd just be interrogating an innocent woman! Can you in all good conscience live with that?"

The man keep his stubborn grip, watching and waiting in bated breath. Though only seconds passed, the time felt like an eternity for Kaito, readying himself for what may come as the woman keep her hold of the uninterested prisoner.

His brows then lifted; jaw fell open, taken back by his superior officer's action. In that instance, Luka freed the woman from her grasp.

The inmate stumbled back, almost falling over. "Well then," Ruko hosted a chipper tone as she fixed up her top. "Nice to see somebody has brains out of the three of you. Kind of doubted you 'fine' officers had that," she chuckled.

A violent puff left the pink haired woman's nose. "Don't get too comfy that I let you off this time you filthy criminal," she ripped herself out of the man's grip, sending him stumbling back as she gripped the bars. "I know for a fact you're involved with that bitch and I won't rest until I find the evidence that ties you two together and when I do," her emeralds eyes loomed, making her message loud and clear. "I won't hold myself back."

Heartbeat violent and stomach felt as if it was a tangled mess, the woman keep her calm denominator. "Yeah...That's nice," she forced out a yarn, stretching out her arms. "Would you look at the the time," she looks to her bare wrist. " It's half past 'I'm tired as fuck' o'clock. Better hit the sack before I ruin my 'oh so luxurious' sleeping schedule," climbing back into bed, the prisoner wrapped her thin; torn blanket around her, back towards them. "Night stooges!" she waved. "I would say that this was a lovely visit, but that'd be a lie."

The three looked on the now resting inmate. Each demonstrating a different expression as they watched. Kaito sucked on his lips, brows furrowed and slouch in his neck that showed the hit of doubt that pledged his mind while Haku looked on with sunken lids.

Luka on the other hand, watched with a piercing glare, straightened posture and curled fist. It took all the strength she could muster to just watch without busting in and forcing a confession. "... You're wrong, Kaito."

"Huh?"

"She's not innocent," with an air of calmness in her voice, she turned around and begin to leave.

Brow raised, taken back by such a posed answer, the man let out a quick sigh and followed the officer. Haku quickly followed, surprising Kaito when she rushed past him and walked alongside the woman who was only a bit smaller than her. "U-Um. Ms Luka?" she forced out, voice shaken.

"Don't call me ms," the woman blatantly responded getting a quick sorry from her. "What is it?" she didn't even turn to look.

"Um. W-well you see. Since it's been a week since the last heist, we've; by that I mean the whole team just to be clear," an unnerving smile befell Haku as she looked to the stoic woman. "...Anyway! We just want to know if you have information on where the next Yokune treasure is being kept?"

"Of course I do. Do you take me for a lazy fool?"

She jumped after seeing the woman snap to her with an aggressive expression. "Ah! No! Of course not! I was just wondering why the rest of us haven't got the info yet?"

"...Hm," easing into a less threatening outlook, the woman moved some of the hair out of her eyes and continued to look on straight ahead. "Simple. I don't want to disclose it."

"Huh!?" such a response caused not only Haku to look with raised brows, but also Katio, who listened along. Both stopped in their tracks.

"What the hell! Why would you keep that info from us!?" the detective demanded.

Luka halted, shaking her head as she kept her back towards them. "Hm. Another simple and also pointless question from my 'favourite' detective," she peered over her shoulder, sharing a glare with the confused officers.

 **I don't trust any of you**

 _ **/**_

 _ **Destination: 22 Vocal way**_

 _ **Time: 7:00AM**_

/

"Ah! Fuck me!" crashing face first on her bed. Rin lets out a muffled sigh before rolling onto her back. Fatigued eyes focused on the patterns that made up her ceiling. "God! How could Kaito put up with that jack hammer they call a girl all his life? 'Oh look at me! I'm so annoying and like talk about irreverent shit for 50 years, but that's okay, cutez and adorbs LOL!' Agh!"

Done mimicking the teal haired teen, blonde girl hops over to the drawer by her bed and pulls out a pen and sketchbook. "Maybe getting some of my manga done will help calm my nerves," she begins to draw a nimble half lion half female with a robotic arm fighting a giant half man half lion with three scars on his face.

She was getting completely engrossed with her work until familiar coin sound from her phone pulled her out of it. "Fuck..." she wined, just barely reaching over to the phone resting on her desk. Once she checked the phone, her sour eyes raised in confusion once she saw the sender. "Haku?" she quickly opened the message.

 _#Toxicated_

 _Rin. I'm sorry if this is last minute, but I got an urgent update with where to find you know what. Won't have time to met at you know where this week, but please make sure your not busy so we can meet up next Wednesday._

 _Already relayed the message onto Neru._

Taking careful note to read over the text. Rin took little time responding.

 _Okay. I'll be sure to met then._

 _Later_

With that, she quickly deleted the message then threw her phone in the middle of her bed. A sigh escaped as she returned to her drawing. "Why couldn't she say we had to meet tomorrow-

 **Could have ditched that teal nuisance**

* * *

 **Hi everyone. Sorry for being gone for a bit, but life and other personal projects really bogged me down a bit and I just needed some time of to think and plan out some things and sadly, this story had to be on the back burner for me to get my mind sorted.**

 **With that said, I am back with writing this, but it won't be as frequent since this when I started. This is because I have many other projects and to be able to balance them all, I need to slow down on this and not work on this so much just to make a schedule. I really didn't want to do this, but this story will now be uploaded with an infrequent** **schedule.**

 **I thank you all for reading and supporting my story and I'm sorry to have to put this all on you, I just felt this is right for me and I hope you understand where I'm coming from.**

 **Anyway, I'm rambling now. Hope you all have a great day/night and take care.**


End file.
